King of Yesterday
by Put My Earmuffs On The Cookie
Summary: COMPLETE "Get off Hermione, or I will kill you." Voldemort looked up at Harry, his human features rapidly unfurling revealing the old Tom Riddle. "Kill me then."A TRHG story.
1. The Beginning and The End

A/N: **THIS HAS BEEN EDITED**

I know a lot of people have written Tom Riddle/Hermione stories, especially ones concerning timetravel of some sort. I will admit that the basic plotline here is not that creative... but I will attempt to make this more interesting that some of those that I have read. Maybe a few more evil twists or indepth personality assessments of Tom.

Enjoy and Review! You should know how much I'd appreciate it if you clicked that lavender button down there to give me a review...

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**Chapter 1 - The Beginning and The End

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**Smiling grotesquely, Voldemort glided, along with his most trusted Death Eaters towards the Headmistress' Office.

There was nothing they could do to stop him now… All but that room up there had fallen to him. And if he was correct, The-Boy-Who-Lived-And-Soon-Would-Die, along with his Mudblood friend and Minerva McGonagall was up there.

Murmuring a spell, the gargoyles guarding the entrance to the Office were blasted from its foundations, letting down the same spiral staircase he remembered so well.

Ascending the stairs, he could see the curses and hexes flying his way. _Fools…_ he thought, as he simply placed up a powerful Shield. Potter was focusing hard on him, and with a careless flick of Voldemort's wand, was flung to the wall.

The bushy-haired Mudblood was still there, and Bellatrix threw a nasty slicing hex at her, causing her to scream and collapse, bleeding profusely at the abdomen.

Minerva, ever still vigilant, fought on. But she would not win this fight. A well-aimed curse hit the old lady, and she crumpled behind the desk.

Surveying the room, Voldemort emitted a cold, calculating laugh. No one would stand in his way now – Potter was unconscious, and his Mudblood was slowly bleeding to death. He advanced towards the raven-haired boy, wand drawn, ready to deliver the final blow, when a weak voice stopped him.

"No… Tom…" groaned the Mudblood, "Don't do it, Tom."

Something in him clicked. A familiar voice?

But Bellatrix had already snuffed out her life, a green light from her wand, before he could ask her any further. Glaring evilly at Black, he screeched, "CRUCIO!"

He didn't know why he cursed his most loyal servant. He just wanted to know why the Mudblood sounded so familiar. And Bella had taken the chance away. Removing the curse, he noticed the portrait of Albus Dumbledore looking sadly at the girl.

"You old codger!" hissed Voldemort, "Who is _she_?" He pointed at the girl, dead on the floor.

"Look at her ring," the portrait stated simply, sighing.

Voldemort finally noticed the golden band on her left hand, marred by the blood. Removing it from her finger, he read the engraving.

_A name makes no matter to me, as long as I can call you my own. _

It had to be a lie. The bastard was still playing tricks on him, even when he was dead.

"I won't fall for this, Dumbledore," he spat, "Just you and your pathetic little tricks."

Albus shook his head sadly. "She is Anaïs, Tom. She was pregnant with a boy." He signaled to her bleeding abdomen.

It was at that point, Voldemort let out an unearthly wail, the ring falling from his hand, and in his fury, pointed his wand at a frightened Bellatrix. He kept the Crucio on her, wanting her to suffer his pain many times over. It did not matter to him whether she was driven to insanity or died. She had killed his Anaïs and his heir.

Amid Bellatrix's screams, Voldemort could hear Dumbledore say something to him, as if to console him of sorts.

"She knew what she was getting into, Tom."

He had heard them. Hurtful words that festered his reopened wound.

He had promised to protect her, no matter what happened. And now she had died, because of him. Not only her, but his son. Their son.

Turning to his remaining Death Eaters, he screamed, "GET OUT!" No one dared to take a demented, babbling Bellatrix back down.

"You disgust me," he growled at what remained of Bellatrix Black, "_Avada Kedavara._"

Left to his own devices in the office, Voldemort bent over to the girl's face, and with his skeletal hand, caressed it. It was cold – dead cold, and the tell-tale sign of a deathly blue hue appeared on her lips.

After what seemed like an eternity to him, he whispered to her, as if she was still alive.

"Anaïs, I spent forever wondering where you went. They promised to help me find you and our child with all their resources, as long as I would lead them with my power on with their Pureblood mania. To kill people like you."

Pausing, he saw the portrait of Dumbledore disappear into nothingness.

"Remember that night? I promised I would never join them. And look at me now," he spat spitefully, "You would be sickened by me."

He could feel something warm sliding down his cheeks. Touching them, he knew they were tears. Something he had not shed for years. "I love you, Anaïs, and I'm sorry."

Suddenly, a voice, albeit hoarse, but firm, sounded behind him, "Get off her, you bastard. Get off Hermione."

_So she was the Hermione. _"No."

For once since a very long time, Harry Potter was confused about his opponent. His greatest enemy, and his best friend, together? "Get off Hermione, or I will kill you."

Voldemort looked up at Harry, his human features rapidly unfurling; revealing the old Tom Riddle. "Kill me then."

Hesitating, Harry pointed his wand at the man who killed his parents, his friends, and all he held dear. Including Hermione.

Glowering at Tom Riddle, Harry growled, "I want you to know how it feels like, to have your loved one killed. And you killed her yourself."

Tom Riddle glanced at the wand in his hand. "If you're not going to do it, I'm going to have to do this myself. Your precious Order Members are coming soon," he snarled, point his wand at his temple, "_Avada Kedavara_."

The last thoughts running through his mind were about Anaïs… or to be more correct, Hermione. The words that he had engraved on her wedding ring were running through his head…_ A name makes no matter to me, as long as I can call you my own. _

And with that, he collapsed, onto the carpet, next to his beloved.

Harry Potter, The-Boy-Who-Lived-And-Killed-Voldemort was the only one who really knew about the events inside that room. People would speculate, and wonder what spell he had used. But he would not reply them, and became a hermit himself.

All the remaining Death Eaters were hunted down, and the people who died given burials that reflected their heroic deeds. Harry himself ordered that Tom Riddle's body be left in peace – and secretly buried Hermione and him together on Hogwarts Grounds, near Dumbledore's tomb. The only marker of their graves is an obsidian gravestone, marking:

_Tom Riddle Jr. & Hermione 'Anaïs' Riddle-Granger _

_In omni adversitate fortunae, infelicissimum genus est infortunii fuisse felicem _

Before he left the Wizarding World forever, Harry stumbled upon a Pensive in the Headmistress' Office, and examined it. It was not Dumbledore's, instead, it contained Hermione's memories during the time she was Anaïs – her story with Tom Riddle.

By the time he left though, he was a changed man, with a different opinion of Tom Riddle. He left the Pensive there, for anyone who wanted to see their story, which eventually ended in tragedy, and headed back to the Muggle World.

It all started with a certain bushy-haired girl inside the Headmistress' Office, three weeks before the attack on Hogwarts happened...

--

"I'm sorry, Hermione, but this is our last chance," came the Headmistress' voice, pitying her young ward for the choice she had to make, "It's the last resort that Dumbledore left to us."

Her chocolate eyes brimming with tears, Hermione questioned, "To change the future by going in the past? What if I change something and then Harry will never be born? I could..."

"There, there, Hermione," murmured Minerva McGonagall, as she enveloped the 18 year old girl in a hug. She had been placed in her care after the massacre of her relatives at a family party, and despite treatment, found it hard to cope.

Dumbledore's portrait popped back - a rare occasion, and in a fatherly way, spoke to Hermione, "I know this may not seem to be right, but the Wizarding World and Harry's success rests in your hands. We will send you back to the time when Tom Riddle was in Seventh Year, and we will need to alter your age."

Minerva stared at the portrait. "I thought... we didn't need to alter her age!"

Glumly, the portrait replied, "Just tweaking two years, Minerva. She is nineteen, and we need to get to him before he graduates.."

Hermione nodded, putting on a brave face. "Bring it on."

Snape, who was in the corner, handed her a foul-smelling, blue potion. She took a swig, her face scrunched from the horrible taste, and finished it, dropping the flask on the floor with a shattering clash. Hermione shrunk slightly, her body more petite than usual - but her robes still fit her.

Minerva strode forwards and gave her another suffocating hug, before stating, "You will by known as Anaïs Burke, only surviving daughter of Belvina Black and Herbert Burke. Your two brothers, Balthazar and Crius, along with your parents, died during an attack from Grindelwald. Albus has planned all of this, and anything that you need, you may ask Albus. I will be there too..."

She had told Harry of this plan, but she never told him she would be leaving today. With tears still in her eyes, she watched as the people she loved froze as she turned the Time-Turner back and forth, jumping decades from her current time.

* * *

The Latin quote on the gravestone means 'At every blow of fate, the cruelest kind of misfortune is to have been happy'.

And for those who are curious, Anaïs is pronounced A-na-ees.


	2. Bastard

A/N: **THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED.  
**

I changed a detail in the previous chapter. Hermione is in SEVENTH YEAR.

Thanks to my lovely reviewers.

**CherryGrlZuli **

**linoy**

**Marie**- Thank you! I'll try and delve more into it emotionally than story-wise. All you TRHG readers know at least the basic plotlines.

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l **- I kind of did it like "Take My Heart Away" by Hatusu (another reallyreally good TRHG, but instead, I decided to make her travel and return earlier than her death.

**Ms willow gosermer **- I found the quote a while ago in one of my books, and it's actually one of my favourites. I've been trying to see how I can fit it in, and voila!

**Fantasmorfic **- Yeah I'll try, mandar. Gimme a draft once you're done.

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**Chapter 1 - Bastard

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**

Hermione, bravely watching the images flicker past her as she passed back the years, couldn't help but feel lonely. No one would know her, the _real_ her, and she would be stuck fifty years in the past, at a time when she would not exist, with a homicidal maniac.

With an ungraceful landing, she found herself sprawled on a blood-red carpet; the one she recognized was in Professor McGonagall's old office. A firm hand stretched out to her, to help her stand, and she grabbed it, raising herself to her full height.

Dusting off her robes, she saw a younger Dumbledore, smiling at her, his eyes twinkling madly as they used to. _As he used to…_

"Now, Miss Granger," he said, motioning her to sit down while he moved behind his desk, "My future self has told me of your situation."

She wanted to warn him. She wanted to warn him about how his death could have been prevented. Even though Snape was good, Dumbledore…

"No, Miss Granger. Do not reveal the future to me. You have already changed enough by coming back in time," he declared, suddenly becoming grim his hand up to stop him, "I am to only assist you as best I can, and deliver you this…"

Dumbledore handed her a flask. Another blasted potion. "This contains the blood of both Belvina and Herbert, who were both friends of mine. Once you take them, you will be a pureblood. Permanently. Your appearance will also be changed, but that will not be permanent."

To stay in deep cover, she would have to leave the old Hermione behind. No more bushy-haired Mudblood Granger whose two best friends were Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Grabbing the potion, she drained it, knowing she would never be the same again.

"I'm sorry that we must do this to you, Miss Granger," he whispered sadly, "But from what my future self said, it was deemed necessary for this to happen…"

Pricks of tears appeared, but she knew had to hold back the tears. _Look up. Look up and hide them. _

"I'm sure you're skilled enough at Occlumency, so you should be fine when facing Headmaster Dippet. We will need to visit him to sort out some things."

--

_Let the games begin. _

Entering the Headmaster's Office, she looked around. The room was a lot different from the way Dumbledore kept it – Professor Dippet was a whole lot more messy. Books were carelessly stacked, leaving the shelves empty, and various trinkets dangling from odd places. However, they were not alone. She noticed a boy her age, dark hair with piercing eyes, boring into her, glaring at her if she was interrupting an important conversation.

"Tom, do you mind? I have something important to discuss with Albus… and ehh..." he pondered.

"Miss Burke," corrected Dumbledore, his eyes locked onto Tom's own, as if having a staring fight. He won, and Tom obediently paced out of the Office, his mask of indifference put up again.

Bumbling towards her, Dippet scanned Hermione up and down, examining her. "Albus, what brings you here? And who is she?"

By this time, Dumbledore had both hands on a short, young Hermione Granger, presenting her to him. "She is Anaïs Cliodna Burke, daughter of Belvina and Herbert Burke."

Eyeing her carefully, he continued, "I'm sorry for your loss, Miss Burke. You came from Beauxbatons, am I correct?"

Hermione nodded, and finally found her voice, murmuring, "It was my mother's wish for me to come to Hogwarts for my final Year." She averted her gaze from the headmaster, to keep up the charade of a recently orphaned child.

Scratching the large, shiny bald part of his head, Armando Dippet swept back to his desk and smiled jovially at her. "Well, then it's sorted. We'll sort you tonight, along with the First Years tonight at the feast."

Turning to Hermione, Albus whispered, "I have sent for a house elf to go to my Office and help you take your stuff after the Sorting. You can wander around later."

Her thoughts were interrupted by a young, handsome Tom Riddle entering, and he gazed at her curiously. "Well, we best be off, Armando," beamed Dumbledore, "Best let Miss Burke here settle in." and he frogmarched her out.

Once they were outside the Office, Dumbledore turned to her sternly. "I must warn you, Tom Riddle is a dangerous boy, Miss Granger. Tread carefully, and watch your words when you are with him."

He handed her a familiar piece of parchment. "Oh, and, you might need this. My future self sent it over."

_The Marauder's Map. _

--

From the Astronomy Tower, she watched the Thestrals drag the carriages to the castle. She could see the creatures alright – black, reptilian horses with wings – since she had seen death. She had ridden them too, with Harry and Ron, and all of them.

Footsteps made their way up the stairs behind her, and Hermione turned, to see Tom Riddle, whose expression was a mix of curiosity and irritation.

"How did you find your way up here?" he growled, observing her suspiciously.

_Just when she was thinking of what she left behind, he _had_ to appear_. "I was walking around the castle, when I just came across here. The view from here is so…"

Tom gave a snort. "You sound oddly Gryffindor-ish for a Burke. You must be a black sheep."

She needed to keep up the ruse of a Pureblood. Giving him a disgusted look, she snarled, "Both my parents and brothers were Slytherins, Riddle."

With a sarcastic air, he hissed, "So another uppity Pureblood, aren't we?" He waved his hand royally, his head tilted back, mocking her.

**Prick** in his teenage years, **homicidal maniac** in his seventies. Great.

"Whatever. Go mope in silence by yourself here. I'm going, you pathetic bastard," she stormed off, towards the stairs. When she passed him, she knew she had hit a nerve.

"How DARE you call me a bastard!" he roared, throwing a Leg-Locker Curse at Hermione as she started walking down the stairs. Hermione's honed reflexes kicked in, and she held up a Shield Charm to deflect it.

With a note of repugnance in her voice, she sneered, "Cursing people behind their back is _cowardly_." and left an annoyed Tom in her wake.

--

_Thank Merlin the First Years get Sorted first. _

After the last nervous First-Year had tottered off to join his house, Headmaster Dippet stood up; not regally and emanating power like Dumbledore did, but more like a haphazard stumble.

"We have a new transfer student from Beauxbatons, Anaïs Burke, who will be joining our Fifth Year."

Timidly, she approached the stool as all the students clapped politely. She glanced over to the Slytherin table, a band of what she expected were Blacks clapping more enthusiastically than others. Tom, on the other hand, maintained a haughty smile, and stared her back, egging her on to sit and be Sorted.

Plopping herself on the bench, she felt Dumbledore place the Hat on her dark hair.

_"Oh-ho! Well if it isn't Miss Hermione Granger…" _

_What?! How can you tell? I'm in the PAST! _

The hat gave an audible sigh. _"I'm linked to the Past, Present and Future, Miss Granger. Unless I get destroyed of course. So you want to be Sorted into a different House?" _

Hermione was unsure.

_"Well, you got a tough mission here, it says. And you're imitating a Burke. Well, the best House to put you in would be.." _

"SLYTHERIN!" boomed the Hat, after an eternity. The students were shocked at the delay of the announcement…. No student had ever taken so long to be Sorted.

_Oh great. Now I just got known to be _"The Girl Who Took Ages to Get Sorted". Sheepishly, she went over to the Slytherin table, her hands shaking slightly.

A boy shuffled over for her to sit. "Hello, cousin. I don't think you've met us, since…"

Another boy, who seemed to be a spitting image of Sirius, but was in Fourth Year, grinned at her. "I'm Orion Black, your distant cousin, and he" he pointed at the younger boy, "Is Cygnus, who is my second cousin." He winked mischievously at him.

Once she sat down, they were silenced by Tom, who sat at the head of the table, his 'Head Boy' badge flashing at her.

"So… _Burke_…" he mocked, "You decided to grace us with your presence…"


	3. Adonis

A/N: Sorry for taking so long to update! I've been busy for a bit, and I'll try to update as much as I can!

Thanks to my lovable reviewers who keep me going:

**Ms willow gosermer**

**CherryGrlZuli**

**annikacan**

**-jellyacey-**- Which reminds me. I didn't put down where that was from. It's a quote from the movie "A Knight's Tale".

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**Chapter 3 - Adonis  
**

* * *

The rest of the members of the table seemed interested in her, but remained in complete silence. Hermione noticed the platinum blonde boy on Riddle's right (no doubt, a Malfoy) look at her even more interestedly than others. Like he had some devious plans to put forth. He followed his line of sight... and he was gaping at her body. 

_Pervert. Must be Abraxas Malfoy, who dies of dragon pox. _She snorted to herself and stood up as she pasted on her fakest smile, looking the youngest Voldemort.

"Got a problem with that, Riddle? Frankly, I don't give a sh.."

A hand clamped over her mouth and dragged her down, forcing her to sit. Once she felt her butt come in contact with the stool, she turned to her assailant, to find a lean, pale dark-haired boy, with slightly angular features, but instead of the fathomless eyes that marked him like a person she knew in the future, the darkness seemed to have more warmth in them.

"You should have said that," the boy mumbled, grabbing a bit of pudding, "They're going to put you back in your right place."

Riddle's lackeys seemed to have started to talk again, but Hermione knew his eyes were watching her every move. "What do you mean?" asked Hermione, ignoring Riddle.

The boy's eyes widened in disbelief. "Your parents never told you anything?"

Attempting to look downtrodden, she muttered, "They were murdered, along with my brothers. Never told me anything..."

He lowered his voice so only she could hear, barely whispering, "Your parents were very liberal... even your mother, a Black, wasn't that much into the Pureblood thing."

"So they supported Muggleborns?"

The boy tried to silence her. "Shush. If you want to keep yourself alive in this House, you should stick to saying "Mudblood" in front of Slytherins. Especially them." Hermione followed his eyes to Riddle and his minions.

Hermione ran those things through her head. "I never got your name..."

Smirking slightly, the boy grabbed her outstretched hand and gave it a kiss. "Adonis Seraphim Prince. I know yours already, Anaïs Burke."

_Prince?_ Unconsciously, she blushed, and Adonis hid a smirk.

Suddenly, a harpy-like squeal came from the other side of the table, and a girl who looked like Adonis' fraternal twin, ran up to Hermione.

"Honestly, Adonis! You should have introduced me to the _new _girl, if you knew her!" She shoved her brother out of the way, and smiled at Hermione, gushing "I'm Eileen Prince, and you're Anaïs Burke, right?"

This Eileen Prince was nothing like the Eileen Prince that was described to her. The Eileen that she was told was sullen and depressed, but this one was bubbly, friendly…

"Yeah."

"This is great! Finally another girl to be my roommate! I gotta tell the others!" She scampered off excitedly.

Adonis turned back to Hermione, and noticing the obvious shock on her face, he grinned. "Eileen is like that… However," his voice sunk again as his features darkened, "if you say anything negative about Riddle, she's bound to lash at you."

She gave him a reassuring smile. "I could pretty much tell how all the girls fawn over him." From where she was sitting, she could see at least four girls around her who were stealing glances at the Head Boy.

"You're different from the rest of them," he murmured, continuing with his food, "You don't seem to fall under the Riddle spell the moment you set eyes on him. In fact, you insult him in his face."

Hermione forked another piece of ham from the large plates resting on the table. "He's a coward and a git. Tried to hex me behind my back."

Almost choking on his food, Adonis stared at her. "You… didn't... get hit?" She shook her head.

"But he's the best…"

"I don't care if he's the best. He's an arse." She noticed Cygnus and Orion's eyes widen, and whisper to each other.

Adonis suddenly averted his eyes and tried to change the topic. Hermione knew Riddle was glaring at him. "So what's your favourite subject?"

"Pretty much everything except for Divination. I think it's just a load of hogwash."

He agreed with her whole-heartedly. "Professor Trelawney is apparently the best Seer there is, but she's really weird. She mumbles, chants, and her eyes go all googly when I had her lessons. Thank Merlin I didn't choose that."

"Neither did I. What do you have tomorrow morning?"

"Potions." He looked at the surprise in her eyes. "You too?"

She didn't care if the heart-throb of all girls in Hogwarts was listening. And he probably was too.

---

Tom Riddle still hadn't gotten over the fact he had been bested by a girl. An un-Slytherin-like girl who seemed to be a lioness at heart.

There were girls like that – girls who just played hard-to-get. But looking into her eyes when she deflected his hex, she was determined, like she was bent on completing a mission or something. And she had the skills to do so.

As he walked back to his room after directing the First Years with a false smile, his mind was still on the girl. She wasn't playing a farce, like the girls who so desperately needed his attention. Like Eileen Prince.

Perhaps she would be a good ally. He would test her aptitude in all the necessary subjects on the following days. He _had_ heard at dinner that she would be in his Potions Class.

After mumbling the password, he entered, and swiftly locked himself into his room. The Head Girl, some toad named Clarissa Putnam, was thrilled at the fact that she would be sharing the dorm with him. She wasn't at all pretty, and frankly, Tom would have chosen any pretty girl who still drooled over him instead of her.

But Burke had seemed to find a friend in Adonis Prince, the boy who truly had a grasp on what was going on in the Slytherin House. And he seemed to like her, at least, having seen her the first time. Tom snorted. In all the classes they were in, Adonis was always second. Not that he minded that much anyway. He had the Prince wealth to back him for the rest of his life, unlike himself.

He roused himself from his thoughts as he heard familiar plodding sounds outside – the return of the Head Girl. Perhaps he could replace her with another, more useful girl, with some 'tragic' accident. With that thought in his head, he swept into his own bathroom for a shower.


	4. Foe

A/N: Dedicated to CC A very happy 15th!

**-jellyacey- **- heh. I love Snape too.. too bad he died near the end of DH.

**JennBenn3148 **- really, I don't think that starting it at the end is that creative. but anyhoo, I'm working my way up to that.

**Ms willow gosermer **- I'll let you ponder whether the 'tragic accident' will turn him into Voldie. I still haven't decided yet, but I doubt it'll be that early where he turns evil

**Gabriella Pheonix **- Of course, you know the ending already - which I wrote in the first chapter. I'll try and make it as interesting as I can in the middle, and how she eventually goes back pregnant.

**inappropriate-name **- Frankly, I'm glad that you said that. Hermione is still human, and at this point, she's known people who have died because of him (more will be explained this chapter). So it's natural that she gets a little more than miffed, and she still hasn't decided how to stop him from becoming Voldemort. And the terms of how she stops him haven't been drawn up...

**Tears of Winter **- which reminds me... THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE 18 PEOPLE WHO PUT THIS STORY ON ALERT, AND THE 3 WHO PUT THIS ON FAVOURITES!

**CherryGrlZuli **- haha. it doesn't matter. I love reviews, cause then I get charged up to write.

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l **- The Trelawney in this story is Sybil's great-grandma, Cassandra Trelawney (I'm assuming here that the Trelawneys have kids pretty early).

**miss bookworm malfoy**

* * *

**Chapter 4 - Foe

* * *

**

On her bed, Hermione could hear Eileen Prince's faint snoring beyond her own and Eileen's own drawn curtains. _Thank Merlin for Slytherin privacy._ She could do anything on her own bed, as long as she didn't wake the others.

Her eyes ran over the ceiling as she tried to sleep. She still hadn't figured out how to stop Riddle from becoming Voldemort, and from the looks of it, she was maybe a year or two too late. Fingering her wand in her pocket, she knew she hadn't planned to use the Killing Curse. It was a cruel way to end it.

And Hermione wasn't cruel.

But Voldemort was. The Voldemort who ordered the deaths of Daniel and Alice Granger in order to force their daughter out of hiding was despicable.

The voice of her deceased Headmaster floated into her head, reminding her of one of the last conversations she had with his portrait.

_"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born. And your job is to change his world."_

She had to change the world.

And she knew how. Tom Riddle had never known love, or true friendship, and perhaps she could change the world.

But all the girls who fell in love with him were scorned at their pathetic attempts. His closest friends were his cronies who he manipulated to do his dirty work.

Tossing and turning, she closed her eyes and desperately tried to sleep. To attempt to be friends with the boy who would become the deadliest man in the future? Heck, to even speak with him was difficult without hexing his bits off.

And she seriously doubted he could maintain a normal conversation, unless he was brown-nosing a teacher or something. Pulling out a piece of parchment and a quill, she silently made a checklist to complete.

**1. Able to be in the same room/table as him** **without getting pissed at the sight of him.**

**2. Able to ask him about something casual/nice without getting a snide remark.**

**3. Able to maintain a short conversation without getting pissed.**

**4. Able to maintain a long conversation without getting irritated.**

**5. Getting to a typical 'friend' stage, no strings attached.**

**6. Giving him a gift for Christmas, Birthday etc.**

**7. Sharing thoughts.**

She sighed. This was near impossible, since he was such a snarky git that could almost rival the future Severus Snape.

_Whoops. Did I just say that out loud?_

She heard Eileen in the bed next to her mumble, "Severus? That's a nice name." before snoring again.

---

In the morning, she did not need to woken by Eileen. Hogwarts had been her home for the last seven years, and she was used to the schedule. By the time they reached the Great Hall for breakfast, Adonis was already there, gazing at Hermione as if he wanted her to sit in the spare seat next to her. She complied, and Eileen sat next to her, obviously gazing hopefully at Tom Riddle.

"Eileen", spoke Hermione, and Eileen snapped out of her trance, slightly giggly, "What do you have first?"

"Why, it should be Transfiguration. I'm in the same class as you and Adonis for Defense Against the Dark Arts." After replying, her attention focused back to Tom Riddle.

She really needed someone to talk to her, and Eileen was the closest to a girl friend she had. Adonis saw the shift in her features, and countered, "I'll show you something cool later about this castle. You're going to love it."

Hermione pondered. She knew the secret rooms in her time, thanks to the Marauder's Map, but was there might have been rooms that existed now, but were removed.

"You know, we better start heading off to class. You'd want a good impression with Slughorn."

She had forgotten that slimy coward taught in Tom Riddle's era too.

---

Oblivious to the dismayed looks in his class, Slughorn boomed jovially, "I will partner each one of you up with a person you have never worked before."

Even those first words made Hermione hate him even more. She was new, and she could be shoved off with any other person. The fat, rotund man continued, "You will be creating any potion you wish - no illegal ones of course. I will be using this to gauge your skills."

He pulled out a piece of paper, "Here are your partners."

**T. Riddle/A. Prince**

**A. Burke/ A. Malfoy**

**A. Longbottom/ I. Lestrange**

**C. Weasley/ B. Crouch **

The list continued on, and she swore, the list had been tampered with. Abraxas Malfoy was looking at her with a smug look, and signaled her to move her things to her bench. She had to - to cross with a Malfoy would mean even big trouble. And she was worming her way to the top, right?

After plopping her books down at his bench, he whispered, "You're a pretty little thing, Burke." He raised his hand, as if to caress her face, but she edged backwards.

"I'm only here to work, Malfoy. We'll be working on Felix Felicitis." Her face was stern.

"A beautiful, intelligent Pureblood girl adept at Potions. You could give Prince there a run for his money," he mused, gazing over her features again.

Hermione could feel her hand itching to curse him there and then. "Go get the ingredients. Malfoy. I'll do the main work."

Smirking to himself, he headed off to the Supplies Room, only to meet Tom Riddle.

"So how's things with Prince?"

Tom snarled. "He may be the best here at Potions, but he's damn hard to work with. I think he suspects something."

"Adonis Prince is not some poof, unlike his sister. He's smart. But that pretty girl, Burke, seems to know her stuff. We're doing Felix Felicitis" He continued to scan the shelves for his ingredients.

_Pretty? _Tom's insides squirmed. He knew what Malfoy was thinking, but to let him have his way to the girl would mean his chances of getting her on his side were significantly decreased. And she seemed even more advanced than Prince. They were only doing a mild Truth Serum.

"Abraxas?" Malfoy's face to turn his master's. "She needs to be on our side."

Tom looked slightly pissed at something, but nonetheless, Abraxas agreed. Inside, the cogs inside Malfoy's mind was whirring. He mentioned nothing about going after her.. perhaps he, himself, could seduce the girl to be a Death Eater. And get the glory.

He hurried out with the ingredients, unaware that Tom was a Legilimens.


	5. Abraxas

A/N: I may not be updating in the coming week because the teachers decided to be insane and give me loads of tests. ugh.

Anyway, love for all my reviewers!

**Ms willow gosermer **- You'll definitely hate Malfoy in this chapter!

**-jellyacey- **- I just happened to find that somewhere on some site and it just got me. heh.

**killtheenviousmoon** - More questions about Adonis will be answered in future chapters! I started one of the questions off in this chapter though.

**JennBenn3148** - Eileen will change, no matter what Hermione does. The books describe her as a sullen woman, and well, I'm going to add the transition of it in this story. Somehow. But nonetheless, Hermione does change things. If she didn't go back, then Tom Riddle would have never fallen in love with her. This is not one of those Karma stories.

**blindfaithoperadiva **- hah. You thought it was a one-shot? Well, I'm attempting at a second fanfic that I can continue on with till the veryvery end.

**miss bookworm malfoy **- it's alright. I stay up till 2 sometimes, reading good fanfics. My bro thinks I'm insane though.

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Abraxas  
**

* * *

Slughorn, despite his enormous size, managed to waddle around, inspecting each cauldron as he wove past. Suddenly he stopped in front of Hermione and Malfoy's one, eyes widened. 

"Felix... Felicitis?" Whispers spread like wildfire.

Both had a smug look on their faces - Malfoy's was more natural and uptight, while Hermione's was more proud than smug.

"Yes, Professor."

"Fifty points to Slytherin!" He looked fit to burst with joy. "And, Miss Burke, may I please speak with you after class, along with Mister Prince?"

As everyone filed out, Malfoy gave her a lascivious look and winked at her before he left, following Tom Riddle. She shuddered, only to see Adonis had seen Malfoy's actions. A flurry of emotions passed through his face, before it settled to a darkened one. "You should be more careful of them, Anaïs."

_So they were friends now - referring to first names._

She smiled weakly at him. "I know, Adonis."

A small cough directed them to Professor Horace Slughorn, looking amused. "Well, Miss Burke, you seemed extremely good at Potions. I'd like you to..."

Hermione couldn't help but blank out. She knew he was inviting her to the 'Slug Club' - she didn't really like it, but she racked her memory. Riddle should be part of it, right?

"So what do you think? We're having a delightful little party to introduce new members tomorrow night."

She couldn't read Adonis' expression, if it was of caution or joy. "Sure."

And with that, she dragged Adonis out of the Potions Classroom with her.

---

"I have a free period right now," grumbled Hermione, wishing Dumbledore didn't cut off Herbology from her lessons. But he had his 'reasons' of course.

Smiling, Adonis waved her goodbye and shouted, "I'll see you in Defense then!" She nodded, and headed off herself, wandering aimlessly around the castle. She had more time on her hands, now she was in the past, with few friends, without Harry and Ron.

"Hello, Burke," growled a familiar voice. _Gods. Just when no one is around._

The familiar blonde popped up in front of her, a smirk on his face.

"What do _you_ want, Malfoy?"

His smirk grew wider. "You."

"Sod off."

He approached her with all his aristocratic greatness and leaned in. "You know what I like about you?" Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes. He was _pathetic_.

"You're different from the other girls. You.." he continued, grey eyes to her auburn ones, "You don't fall for Tom Riddle."

He pulled back, and continued, full rant-mode. "You're pretty, and smart too. All the girls here have some thing for Tom... even the ones who have boyfriends." He sneered.

"So what does this have to with you approaching me, Malfoy?" she scoffed, lip curling. She was prepared to leave, when he grabbed onto her arm.

"You will be mine, Anaïs." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Mine."

She snatched her arm from his grasp and headed out, away from him.

---

"How was your first free period?" asked Adonis, tired after an extremely physical Herbology lesson in the greenhouses.

"Horrible," she grimaced as she walked with him to the DADA classroom, "I bumped into Malfoy."

Adonis sneered. "And what did he say?" The glint in his eyes was almost identical to the one of a pissed-off Snape.

"The typical I-want-you-and-I'm-gonna-prove-it trash. He said something about all the girls going after Riddle while I wasn't and that made me special in some way."

"It's true. I bet you most of the girls here have harbored something towards Riddle at some point... except for the girls who swing the other way."

"Well he's a git," she stated boldly as they entered the classroom. There were two seats left - one next to Malfoy, and the other one next to Riddle.

_Bloody great._

Eileen politely waved at Hermione as she entered before focusing on Riddle again. "Frick," she muttered, so Adonis could only hear her.

"Hey, I'll take Malfoy's seat for you. Riddle won't be that bad." He grinned at her and sat down next to Malfoy, who was obviously displeased.

Ignoring the looks on the faces of the girls surrounding her, she sat next to him, her expression indifferent. She heard some of the mumblings, such as "I bet she's just trying to play hard to get with him." or "Honestly! She's not even pretty!"

"Well, well, if it isn't Miss Burke," he whispered, as the lean, lanky professor with wispy hair introduced himself as 'Professor McAlester'.

"Shut it, Riddle. I'm trying to learn here." She knew she wouldn't learn anything, at least not in the first lesson.

"We'll be dueling today to see your varying skills," boomed Professor McAlester, "It's more like a benchmark test."_ Double frick._

"As I call your name, walk up to the platform and prepare to duel. Tom Riddle." He paused as the students gasped and gave them a stern look. "Gabriel Nott."

As the duel ensued, she studied Riddle's moves. They were quick alright, but not as fast enough as they would become in the future, and the the vast array of spells he knew helped. Before long, Nott's wand zipped out of his hand into Riddle's outstretched one.

"Anaïs Burke, Abraxas Malfoy." Someone was playing a very cruel joke on her. Whispers started again as she stepped up onto the platform.

After bowing, she raised her wand in a professional manner.

Malfoy sent the first stunner, and she flicked it off as if it was nothing. He continued to barrage her with hexes and curses, but she deflected them easily, some ricocheting back at him and barely missing him.

_Make use of your enemy's anger. Anger causes recklessness._

Tom struggled hard to conceal his shock. The girl was easily taking down Abraxas, bit by bit. The things she were doing rivaled his method in dueling, and perhaps she even surpassed him in experience. She was getting more interesting than what he had first perceived.

Hermione saw the first chink in Malfoy's armor less than a minute later, muttering "Petrificus Totalis". He dodged, the spell grazing his blonde hair. Snarling, he sent over more hexes.

_He is slowly tiring of this._

Watching amusedly as his right hand man's reflexes were slowing, Tom wondered the possibilities of having her on his side. Or even better, at his side. He mentally slapped himself at the thought.

Malfoy's defenses had large gaping holes in it now, and Hermione began taking the offensive. "Locomotor Mortis!" she shouted, before continuing as he tried to avoid it, "Stupefy!"

The stunner grazed his side, but he continued fighting. "Expelliarmus!" she snarled, finally, and Malfoy's wand drifted out of his reach and into her victorious hands.

Enthusiastic clapping was heard, and Tom could see the fool Adonis beam at her. He felt like clapping himself, but he restrained it. It would be.. weak.. to show such things.

But Hermione seemed to read his mind as she glanced at him, sporting a smirk on her face.

"Ana! That was great!" gushed Adonis, his face red with laughter as they exited the classroom, "You don't mind me calling you that, right?"

"Nope." Inside, she was keeping tally of the times she won Malfoy. Currently Granger, no, Burker - 1, Malfoy - 0.

_Speak of the devil_. Malfoy appeared, his head held his head up high, and growled at Hermione. "This doesn't mean that I'm giving up. I still want you, and I will have you." He sauntered off, to the Great Hall.

Turning to Hermione, Adonis whispered, "Promise you won't let him get to you. It's probably just some fling that he wants, and he'll give up eventually." And with that, the headed off to the Great Hall for lunch.

She pondered his words as they walked through the corridor and down the main stairs. In just one day, she had made one good friend - Adonis Prince. And he was a nice guy. She just wondered why she didn't hear of his name in the future...


	6. Marriage and Threats

A/N: I'm trying to see if this fic will beat my previous one in reviews, favs and alerts. And maybe C2s too. If that was possible, it would make me a very happy, bouncy, hyper, and of course, write more.

**-jellyacey- **- I'll probably do something near the end which explains what happened to specific people. You can keep on guessing.. for now.

**blindfaithoperadiva **- I'm trying to do this as canon as possible, HBP (not DH). But we know nothing about Snape's relatives, and I assume they're all dead, like Snape's mom. It's sad, but Adonis will die.

**AkitaFallow **- I just realized something though. I'm not focusing too much on Hermione's character and emotions. I think she's turning a little bit Mary Sue.

**Ms willow gosermer **- yah. The sole purpose of Malfoy here is for you all to hate.

**CherryGrlZuli **- If Hermione was to turn evil... I wouldn't know how I would bend it back to the end.

**Tears of Winter **- The Princes are generally good people. They don't deal in evil like the Malfoys do. Well, until Tom comes along and whisks Eileen's heart away (possible hint not determined yet)...

** the beautiful dreamer's awake**

**killtheenviousmoon **- I have to admit, I love Tom too. As I said in reply to **blindfaithoperadiva**, Adonis will die, no matter what.

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l **- You'll understand more why he's hitting on her in this chapter.

**miss bookworm malfoy **

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Marriage and Threats

* * *

**

It was always dark in the Slytherin Common Room. The only major light source would be the fireplace; there were no windows since they were in the dungeons. Adonis Prince disliked the dank feeling there, but nonetheless, sat close to the hearth reading.

He thought about the events today. Ana was a great friend – finally a friend who had the same interests and wanted nothing in return. Frankly, he didn't have many; most of the ones in Slytherin were a little less than hostile towards him, and the other houses would not associate with a Slytherin. He knew what Abraxas Malfoy did to girls, and he didn't want his new friend to become a mess. Apparently one girl that Abraxas dumped cruelly nearly committed suicide. But again, his admirers were nothing like Riddle's. His were _absolutely_ crazy.

Riddle had the entire female population of the school underneath his spell. Teachers (apart from Dumbledore, that wise man) fell under it too. But Ana could see underneath, like he could.

Suddenly the portrait swung open, and the 'devilishly handsome' boy stepped through, scanning the room before noticing Adonis, crawled up, and reading.

Before Tom could say anything, Adonis growled, "Why are you down here? Don't you have your own Head's Room?"

Riddle ignored his comment. _Uptight snob. Thank the Gods Ana isn't that blind to like such an idiot. _Tom felt something jolt in him as he read Adonis' thought, before continuing into the Boys' Dorm.

---

As he descended down the stairs to the Seventh Year Boys' Rooms, he couldn't help but think about what had passed through Prince's mind.

_He's probably just thankful that Anaïs stuck to him. _

But as he reached the last step, he heard two familiar voices. _Abraxas Malfoy and Gabe Nott. _

"You saw her today, right, Nott?" _Oh the pompousness in his voice was so evident. _

"Yeah. She's damn good at her stuff. Good shaggable material too." Tom felt the same pang in him – the same one as he read Adonis' thought.

"And she's pureblood too. And guess what? Her only surviving relative on her father's side is her uncle, Caractus Burke."

"The sneaky, poor bastard who would do anything to get money and some rarities and runs that shop full of dark materials in Knockturn?"

"The same one." Tom didn't like how this conversation was going. "I'm just wondering how much he would accept for an 'engagement' proposal with his only niece… She'd make a good breed."

Despite knowing that by marrying Malfoy, Anaïs' chances of joining his motley crew would increase exponentially, he didn't like it. The twinge seemed to hurt even more.

"Your parents have a lot of dark materials, right? You can just bribe him with that!"

"We need to get Prince out of the way though. And you'd better shut up about it… or else," Malfoy snapped, as Tom carefully treaded back upstairs.

He found Adonis Prince, still on the couch, reading "Hogwarts: A History". As he approached, Adonis glared at him again.

"What do you want?" he spat, eyes barely lifting from the book.

Tom ignored his unfriendly tone. "Malfoy's planning to bribe Burke's uncle so he can marry her. You know how Malfoys treat their wives, right?" With that, he swept out, back to his dorm.

Adonis was shocked. Tom never did anything nice, unless he had something to gain. Replaying their conversation in his head, he couldn't find what Riddle wanted.

But it was a fair warning. Malfoy wives were merely breeding mares, and once they produced heirs, they would be ignored and left to waste their life away. Ana was too lively to be reduced to such a dull, cursed life.

---

He told her the next day, and she seemed to care little about Malfoy. However, she had approached Dumbledore in late September, asking if this would jeopardize her mission.

With an all-knowing smile, he offered her a lemon drop as she entered his office. "I may be a bumbling, ditzy old man in the future, Miss Granger, but I have my reasons. Have you looked at yourself?"

Confused, she recalled how her hair, a little sleeker than what it used to be, was just a few shades darker than her normal hair, and her eyes were too. Generally, her facial features had not changed.

"There was a reason I decided to make you a Burke. You were almost like them when you were without the strong glamours. Those are just icing on the cake. Do not doubt me, Miss Granger. I know Caractus Burke well, and he is wise enough not to make his only surviving relative a Malfoy bride."

Hermione knew little about the fine details of Wizarding Marriage – she had only gone to Bill and Fleur's one, but that was simple and similar to a Muggle one. But Pureblood ones were apparently totally different.

"It is not a typical marriage custom – instead it is what all Malfoy men do. Do you think they even marry for love? No. They marry so their descendants will be pureblood, and as a side dish, perhaps intelligent and handsome. The wives are neglected after they produce an heir."

Hermione remembered the slightly demented Narcissa Malfoy. Dumbledore turned his intelligent eyes to face hers, somber. "Yes. Even some Malfoy wives have been known to turn slightly crazy, others, suicidal. It is not a happy life. Even Caractus, with his love of money and dark objects, would not subject his niece to it."

His expression softened. "Do not worry, Miss Granger. Now I believe Mr. Prince is expecting you outside."

As she exited, she saw Adonis outside, his face etched with worry, but when he saw her, it turned to relief. They had become such great friends – he was like Harry and Ron combined. Her chest hurt when she thought of them though.

"What did Dumbledore say?" he asked expectantly, as they walked to the Great Hall for dinner.

"I don't need to worry about anything. My uncle won't do such a thing," she stated confidently. However, she needed to deal with an ever-irritating Malfoy. They had resorted to sitting as far from him on the Slytherin table, but he always managed to find a seat next to her.

And the fact that people knew he was trying to propose to her didn't make things better. Her two distant 'cousins', the Blacks, seemed slightly worried at first, but nonetheless were proud at the news of the proposal. The girls were gossiping, as usual.

Eileen seemed oddly silent about it. Hermione wasn't surprised though – Eileen only had eyes for Tom Riddle. As she sat down with Adonis near the first Years, Tom, Malfoy and their cronies followed, and the First Years fled. They seated themselves around them; Tom on Hermione's right, Malfoy on Adonis' left.

"Have you given it any thought yet, Burke… wait, I mean, future _Malfoy_?" whispered Malfoy, in what was supposed to be his flirty, alluring voice. But all it did was make Hermione even sicker than before. Adonis looked disgusted and was about to argue, but Hermione beat him. "I would never be a Malfoy. Ever," she sneered at him, dark eyes flashing, "I don't even need to _think _about it."

By this time, most of the Slytherin table was silent, watching her every move.

"Oh..." Malfoy's face looked crestfallen for a split second before going back to a smirk, "Well, it seems you will need a bit more _persuasion_."

---

A new feeling flooded Tom – a feeling he didn't like, since it was weak, but he allowed it in anyway.

Watching Malfoy grab her and drag her out of the Great Hall, he knew what was going to happen. And he followed, robes sweeping out behind him.


	7. Vindication

A/N: Sorry for not having updated in a while. I was stuck with writer's block... and will be leaving soon to INDIA for a week. Sorry!

**CherryGrlZuli**

**blindfaithoperadiva**- Huh? what eighth amendment? I love writing cliffies since they're easier to pick up from instead of plain boring endings.

**Ms willow gosermer **- Were you referring to Malfoy? Well, I'm not going to write smut. I'm horrible at that stuff, and this was rated T for a reason. So there's not going to be anything physical which is graphically described about those Abraxas and Hermione- perhaps implied, since Hermione and Tom do have a baby in the end.

**Charming-Lynn **

**Monnbeam**

**-jellyacey-**

**killtheenviousmoon**- Wait, so if he harms her, you're going to actively (ahem) him? wow. Perhaps I should add that after all then (smirks evilly).

**JennBenn3148 **- There's a reason why Adonis dies. Perhaps he dies for another reason in the past that Hermione left when she ventured into and created a parallel universe, but nonetheless, he dies either way.

**miss bookworm malfoy **- Isn't that how most TRHG stories go? Anyway, I LOVE CHOCOLATE TOO!

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Vindication  
**

* * *

Tom continued down the corridor to find Malfoy, and a defenseless Anaïs, who was slinking further and further away from him. She was corner. 

Wand raised, he headed towards them, even though his mind was berating him.

---

Moments before, she had tried to release herself from Malfoy's strong grip, but failed. He had disarmed her, and with a sickly smile, mused, "Now we don't want you foolishly waving your wand and poking someone's eye out, do we dear?"

As she backed away from him, he continued, "There's no use running away, my sweet. I will get you no matter what." Disgusted, Hermione spat in his face.

His expression turned sour and menacing, and he spat, "You'll learn not to do that… with me." He quickly scourgifyed his face, and slapped her face.

---

Tom watched her defiantly spit in Abraxas' face, and felt proud. But the resounding smack that followed angered him.

Loss of control. Tom Marvolo Riddle had never lost control before. And here was some girl he could care less about. Right?

He stormed towards them, and prodded his wand in Malfoy's ribs.

---

Hermione was shocked. She had been slapped before, yes, but the future Lord Voldie sticking up for her? That was totally unexpected.

Malfoy had a mix of fury, shock, fright and regret on his face. He settled on regret. "Yes, master," he groveled, and stepped back, glaring at Hermione. He handed her want to him.

"I also meant that you had to disappear too, Malfoy," growled Tom, throwing a hex that barely missed him, "I will deal with you later." Abraxas Malfoy ran as fast as he could, on his none-too-agile legs, back into the Great Hall.

She could barely stifle a giggle. A strange inner peace found itself in Tom Riddle the moment he saw her smile and laugh. If he could, he would have taken a picture of that moment and framed it so he would feel the same every time he saw that picture.

_You're becoming weak, Tom_, hissed a voice. He dismissed it, and wondered what to say to her. Feigning indifference again, he asked her neutrally, "Are you okay?" and handed her wand over.

Totally incapacitated of speech, Hermione was still ogling at the fact that Riddle stood up for her, and even asked if she was okay. She felt him trying to enter her mind, and stopped him in his tracks.

"Seriously, you don't have to delve into people's brains if they're just a few seconds slow on replying," she murmured, "You're not the only Legilimens and Occlumens around here. And I'm fine, thank you." He blanched. The old Tom Riddle most certainly did _not_ blanch.

Her face turned back into a wide smile when he saw Adonis running over, worried. He hugged her, and she did it back, as he asked her, "Did that git do anything?" Tom had a feeling that wasn't necessarily aimed only at Abraxas. She shook her head, and he comforted her. Surreptitiously, he moved away from them as the feeling resurfaced again, prickling his heart.

He would kill to be in Adonis' place, to be Anaïs' shoulder to cry on. He would do anything. Stomping back to his Head Common Room, he grunted the password to a very startled portrait, and entered, slouching on the sofa.

Hearing footsteps behind him, he ignored them. To hell with Clarissa Putnam and her pathetic attempts to lure him so that he would go out with her. She was also getting on his nerves too.

He could see in the corner of his eye that Clarissa's arms were ready, about to grab him for a hug, but he was quicker. Shouting a stunner, he watched her fall to the ground, hard.

This was the last straw. He had a bad day after seeing Malfoy with Anaïs, then Prince with Anaïs, and now Putnam tried to attack him.

"Obliviate!" Perhaps he should meddle with her memory too, so she would move out. Smirking, he decided to alter them, so someone better could be Head Girl. He had a particular dark-haired girl in his mind's eye.

---

"Are you sure about this, Miss Putnam?" asked Dumbledore curiously, as the short, stocky girl fidgeted in Headmaster Dippet's office, unsure of herself.

"I've been having thoughts about this for a while now, sir," she stuttered, slightly confused, "I've decided to relinquish my position as Head Girl."

Inside his mind, Dumbledore knew it was odd. All the girls wanted to be Head Girl after finding out they would be sharing a Common Room with the dashing young Tom. And Clarissa Putnam was one of his biggest fans. To give up a 'chance in a lifetime' for no apparent reason? He had an inkling that Tom was behind this.

"Well, Miss Putnam, we will address the school tomorrow of your replacement. Good day," bumbled Armando Dippet, pulling out a list of 7th Year Students' as the girl disappeared behind the door.

Dumbledore scanned the list for a potential Head Girl. In the visits that Miss Granger had paid him, she had told him vaguely of her mission – to be close to Tom Riddle. He didn't know what she meant by 'close', and frankly, he didn't want to know more about the future. He decided to help her.

"How about Miss Burke? Her scores are relatively high…"

---

Caractus Burke was not a patient man. Despite the balding patch that threatened to ravage the rest of his hair, he felt beyond his years.

And it had been forever since he had seen his only niece. His younger brother had hidden themselves after her birth, and he only remembered cooing at the bundle of joy.

_That's what you get for not picking a side, Caractus_. No one trusted him, not even his own brother to an extent. Being such a specialist in Dark materials, he couldn't afford turning his back to Dark forces, such as Grindelwald and risk getting killed, along with the rest of his family.

So he had to separate himself from them, and told them to hide. Perhaps by seeing his niece he could be vindicated for his past mistakes.

Sitting in a dark corner of the Three Broomsticks, he hoped his niece had received the owl…


	8. Lost Touch

A/N: **EDIT: I have changed the name to the story to "King Of Yesterday" since the old one was to wordy. And yes, I do love that song from Jude.**

Leaving on Friday! won't be back to update till the week after!

**CherryGrlZuli **- Bingo. updated before I left. it's a little shorter than the ones before though.

**Demoness-MarlstonWells69ner**

**-jellyacey- **- He will die. It's pretty much set down now.

**killtheenviousmoon **- Tom is going crazy.. in the opinion of his cold, calculating mind. But Caractus Burke is not bad. Just a bit shady before, since he was neutral, but he is NOT A BAD GUY.

**Monnbeam**

**harrypotterfreakjlw **

**jjp91**

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Lost Touch

* * *

**

This had not been Hermione's day.

Mornings started with the idiot of a headmaster's spotlight on her, announcing that she, Anaïs The-Girl-Soon-To-Be-Mrs-Malfoy Burke, would be sharing her quarters with Tom as Head Girl.

She wasn't too worried about sharing anything with him, even if the girls were muttering curses and glaring her way. Just as long as he got out of the way and stopped bother her when she needed him to. But what happened after Dippet announced it stuck in her mind.

Eileen had turned to her, expression cold. "You'd better not be attempting anything, _Burke_. If you do, don't forget you're playing a very dangerous game, and..." her eyes narrowed, "Someone's going to die of heartbreak in the end. Watch it." With that, she stormed out of the Great Hall, glaring daggers into anyone who stood in her way.

_Like a true Snape_, thought Hermione, as she recounted it. Then a mysterious tawny owl had appeared with a letter, from her apparent uncle, requesting a meeting.

Dumbledore had dismissed her thoughts that Caractus Burke was a dangerous man, and even ushered her to the Three Broomsticks to meet him. She was now Head Girl, and could freely go to Hogsmeade when she wanted to, as long as a teacher knew.

After all her classes, she had slinked off, and stood in the Three Broomsticks, looking for the man. Harry, being the smart boy he was, had shown Ron and her every single memory he had seen in Dumbledore's Pensive, and put in his own. That included the one from Caractus Burke.

She saw her 'uncle' served by a man who looked like Madame Rosmerta's relative, and swept towards him. Caractus seemed to detected her approach, and muttered, "Thanks, Carl." to the man before turning to Hermione and signaling her to sit.

---

Tom hadn't planned to go to Hogsmeade. But Malfoy had desperately needed some materials, and he tagged along, under the expensive Invisibility Cloak Malfoy Senior had bought him for his birthday.

While Malfoy was in some store, Tom decided to wait for him in the Three Broomsticks. He was quietly sipping his Butterbeer when he saw the familiar dark, sleek hair from the girl that was on his mind lately head towards him.

_SHIT. _He threw his cloak over himself, the hood over his head. She didn't seem to notice him, and sat at the table behind him. He hadn't seen who was behind him… But he was listening hard as she sat, and the person growled, "Thanks, Carl." to Mister Rosmerta.

---

"Anaïs," he deplored, "I am sorry to not have contacted you earlier…"

Hermione knew well to tread carefully though. "Yes. You had your reasons, uncle."

_Uncle?_ Tom's ears were well pricked now.

"Those were no reasons to abandon one's family, Anaïs," he continued, the sadness on his face showing, "I hear evil will soon be vanquished… But I am afraid, my niece."

"Afraid?" She tried to keep the façade on, hoping to get more answers about her character and her family so she could act the part.

"Yes," his voice suddenly hushed, "Grindelwald is a dangerous man. I am running a risk by coming here."

_So the not-so-innocent Anaïs has her ties to evil._ Tom was still paying rapt attention, thankful that Malfoy was not back yet.

"Come with me to Dumbledore, uncle. He can help you."

_Dumbledore, that paranoid schizo? What could he do against Grindelwald? _mused Tom.

"I have thought about it… But that would link them to you, Anaïs."

Tom could imagine Anaïs shaking her head. "I'm a big girl, uncle. I can take care of myself."

:"You are the only heir…" he suddenly started, but realized he may have let his secret loose and bit his tongue, for Hermione's eyes widened. "No one told you?"

Tom was intrigued. She was the last of the Burkes?

Hermione was thankful for having read up a little on the Burke family history and that the true Anaïs Burke had been hidden a few months after her birth. "No…"

"Then this is a discussion for another time. I am sure you have heard about the Malfoy family's request to wed you." She nodded. "And I'm sure you know of their rites."

"Yes, uncle. I refused to marry Abraxas Malfoy several times, but he still has not given up."

"As the last head of the family, I rejected their proposal, niece. I cannot stand the last Burke, especially a female, being a Malfoy wife. And as for your estates…"

"I do not want them, uncle. All that belonged to my father is yours to keep."

"But…" Tom could tell Caractus Burke was lost for words, "Your father would not want you to be destitute."

"I am not. It would be better in your hands. Use it, invest on your shop, uncle." She was pushing back her, chair, as if to leave. "I will talk to Dumbledore for you."

But Tom could hear something stopped her footsteps. "Dear niece, it will be your birthday soon. I must buy you a present, for I have not for the last seventeen years. Do you have a familiar?"

"No, it would be too much. Please... uncle…"

"I must. I will write to you soon, and send a familiar for you. Farewell."

Tom heard Anaïs walk away, and her uncle leave. He was curious now… a Pureblood refusing to get her inheritance? He would die for her wealth. And yet she cast it away…

---

Heaving a sigh of relief, Hermione patted herself on the back. At least Caractus Burke would not feel too sad when she disappeared to go back to her time.

But something had worried her. She was the last of the Burkes? Perhaps it would change things a bit then.

She found her way back to the Head's Rooms, and entered her bathroom, ready to wash off all the grime that had accumulated on her body the entire day. At times like this, she wished Ron and Harry were in the same time as her, hanging out with her, giving their sincere opinions to her about her choices and her alternatives.

Perhaps she could ask Adonis tomorrow. Perhaps.


	9. Hello

A/N: Back from INDIA! This is a little shorter than most, due to a minor writer's block.

**-jellyacey- **- Hermione will crumble eventually. If she didn't, it would be unrealistic.

**blindfaithoperadiva**

**fiery-charlatan**- THANK YOU!

**CherryGrlZuli** - My penname is actually nicked from the Broadway 'Avenue Q' from the song "Fantasies Come True".

**JennBenn3148 **- That's answered in this chappie.

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l **- It's still a mouthful to me, even though I like it.

**Gueneviere** - I guess that's the downside of writing the ending first. But it makes it so much easier for me.

**heffy**

**kymie29**

**deeps85**

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Hello  
**

* * *

"You went out to see your uncle?" gasped Adonis, his food still half in his mouth, his raven hair messy from his sleep, "Damn, you're so lucky…" 

"That's not the point, Adonis," she hushed, "I needed to discuss some personal matters. And I'd prefer less people knowing about it."

Adonis nodded, and continued eating. Eileen had turned back to her bubbly self, but Hermione could feel the tension between them. But right now, she had the opportunity to speak to her.

"Eileen?" The said girl turned, sporting a smile on her face which faltered slightly. "What?"

"Look, maybe we got off on the wrong step about me being Head Girl. I didn't do it just to get to Riddle. Heck, I don't even like him one tiny bit right now."

Eileen's features seemed to brighten, her eyes sparkling, and whispered, "Thank you so much, Ana. You don't know how much that means to me." And with that, she bear hugged Hermione.

Abraxas and Tom had heard her words. Abraxas, for one, was still his smug self. He'd known she didn't like his master, and that would give him less competition. But Tom was in pain, as if his heart was shattering. With that, he glided out to his sanctuary – the Heads' Room.

He didn't know why he bothered with Burke. She wasn't a shocker with killer legs, but she was pretty enough.

_What?! _He mentally reprimanded himself.

But then again, she wasn't some ditz and was skilled. Accomplished in all the subjects, she made a good… His train of thought stopped abruptly.

She was fiery. Uncontrollable. And didn't flounder after him. There were only those who pretended to be unfeeling, but they were far from what Ana truly was.

And why did he always have this sting in his heart whenever she was around another guy?

_Burke, you are truly a thorn in my side. _

---

Hermione was glad she had no lessons in the morning – at least she could relax a bit more and try to accomplish her mission.

So far, nothing had gone right. Well, apart from him saving her from Malfoy. But then again, he was unresponsive.

And currently, she had a parcel from her uncle, Caractus Burke. The owls didn't like what was inside, and Hermione knew it was her familiar from now on.

She entered the Head's Room, to find it empty, and sat down on the sofa, tearing off the wrapper delicately. A letter was stuck onto the box.

_Dear Niece, _

_Since it will be your birthday on Thursday, I have sent you a present that I hope will help slowly make up for my years of absence. Inside is your familiar. _

_She is a young snakeling who needs a name. _

_Sincerely, _

_Caractus _

She gulped. Out of all the animals he could have chosen… a snake? But then again,

The green reptile was so small it could fit in her hand; as she gazed at it, it seemed so tender, and innocent.

Names ran through her head – she didn't know what to call a snake. 'Crookshanks' was already taken back at home, and didn't suit a snake.

"Nagini," she whispered, out of the blue, "I'll name you Nagini."

And by the time she realized what she had said, it was too late.

---

Inside his room, Tom could feel the presence of a snake outside. Opening his door slightly, he could see Burke, with a young snake in her hand, talking to it.

He strode out, with a smirk on his face. "Out of all the people, Burke, you got a **snake** for a familiar? You don't even have anything in common."

Hermione bit back a comment. However, the snake in her hand turned to Tom and hissed.

_Listen here, Parseltongue. _That definitely got Tom's attention. _My mistress does not need your snide remarks right now. So... _And with that, Nagini hissed a snakey profanity at Tom.

What shocked Tom even more was that Hermione was stroking Nagini's head lovingly, whispering, "Thank you Nagini."

Riddle tried to remove his face of surprise – first he had been told by a young snakeling to bugger off, then Burke had seemingly understood the words her familiar said and thanked it.

"You… can… speak Parseltongue?" stuttered Tom, unable to take his eyes off them.

Hermione's inner self was cheering at her victory. "I had a friend who could," she stated, but before she disappeared back into her room with Nagini, she added, "And I know for sure that you can too."

Tom was left speechless. Didn't the gift of Parseltongue follow the line of Salazar Slytherin? And wasn't he the only heir left? How did she know he could speak it?

_Another question for the ever-shifting Burke. _

---

Abraxas Malfoy was not a patient person.

He had tried most of the tricks in his book to get Burke. Bribing her uncle, threats, seduction – nothing would work.

Perhaps a little more force? Crabbe and Goyle could help take out Prince, that nosy busybody. Then he could have Burke for himself.

And plus, the Halloween Ball was coming up. He needed to reassert his position by dancing with her to prove that he was truly marrying her.

Giving out instructions to his loyal henchmen Crabbe and Goyle, he lounged back in the Slytherin Common Room, waiting for news of Prince.

---

Adonis whistled a familiar tune that he couldn't place a name to as he strolled down the stairs to his next class with Ana. Arithmancy.

A spell shot out from behind him, and his satchel fell, dropping his books unceremoniously on the steps. He turned around as fast he could, wand drawn, trying to stun his assailants. But they were faster than him.

A combination of hexes and spells hit him, and Adonis collapsed, rolling down the steps, until his head hit the banister, as his attackers fled.

And that was how Hermione found him, later, in a pool of blood.


	10. Ferrety Goodness

A/N: YAY! Thanks to all those who decided to add this story on Alert. I've now got more alerts on this story than my old one. Also more reviews than I had for my ninth chapter in the old one.

**miss bookworm malfoy - **Is Adonis dead? Maybe. Read on!

**blindfaithoperadiva** - Oh the joys of writing cliffhangers and not having to think onwards.. yet. And yes, Earmuffs on itself sounds bizarre. I had been thinking a while when I was writing around Chapter 6 or sometime then about how to fit Nagini in. And voila!

**Darkness-Lightness** - That's a very good question. And I'll answer that sometime later in the story (smirks evilly)

**AriesFireGirl** - Dead? hrm. Read on!

**killtheenviousmoon** - Tom will lose control - constantly, when Hermione is around. And someone's bound to be suspicious.

**CherryGrlZuli** - Read on to see if he's dead or not!

**Gabriella Pheonix** - I had this moment where I was obsessed with the word 'bugger' and wanted to stick it in somewhere when I wrote Chapter 9. But the relationship between Nagini and Hermione will become pretty important. Somewhere (which I haven't thought of yet).

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Ferrety Goodness

* * *

** A wave of emotions hit Hermione when she found Adonis, in a bloody mess at the stairwell. 

Anger at who did it to her new best friend.

Pity for Adonis. Suspicion. Worry.

She checked for a pulse.

Weak. Fluttering.

Hurriedly, she levitated him, and brought him to the hospital wing.

---

Madame Auclair, the school matron was similar to Madame Pomphrey, but seemed more motherly. Her eyes widened at Adonis' state when Hermione walked in the Hospital Wing.

"Put him on a bed immediately!" she shouted, running towards him, and casting stabilizer spells. In the next few minutes, she had poured countless potions down his throat, cast other spells to check on his condition.

By the time she was finished, she seemed weary. "Mister Prince has what Muggles call 'Traumatic brain injury' to the head. It would be best for him to stay for a while." She fished out a note for Hermione. "This is your late slip for the Professor in your class, along with Mister Prince's absence note. You can visit later, but right now, I need to find Professor Dumbledore, since he was attacked."

Nodding, Hermione exited, bent on finding who attacked him.

---

Tom watched as Hermione entered, late. She had a disturbing look on her face, as she sat at the empty table where she normally sat with Prince.

But obviously, Prince was missing. And the scattered notes, books, and blood and the stairwell was an obvious sign. Someone had attacked him.

_High time someone did it._

However, Tom couldn't help but feel uneasy. Prince's attack had caused a whole new side of Ana to surface. The scary, vengance-seeking banshee side.

He had a back-breaking hunch to who did it. Prince was unpopular, but no one wanted to seriously hurt him and get away with it except... Abraxas. It was so _obvious_.

Abraxas was dead meat. He wanted to see what Burke did to him.

---

Abraxas Malfoy smiled at his two normally dim-witted followers after the lesson, in the Slytherin Common Room.

"Nice work, you two. Who knew you two could be so creative about this?"

Crabbe and Goyle gave him two stupid-looking, toothy grins.

None of them had heard Hermione stalk in, furious. Stunning the two acolytes in their grins, she turned to Malfoy.

"Malfoy, You attacked Adonis, you... FERRET!" A spell shot out of her wand, and Tom watched in amusement in a corner as Abraxas turned into a pale, furry ferret, bouncing around, against the walls, following Hermione's wand.

"You should be thankful that I don't kill you and make sure the line of Malfoys ends with you. But that'd make you the last _ferret_ in the line that I'll see... so..." She flicked her wand to one side and sent the ferret shooting off to the wall and slide down.

_Why did she want to see another ferret? _Tom was stumped. Ana Burke was so cryptic.

He was thrown out of his musing by her voice, "And what are you doing here, Riddle?"

"Ferret. Creative, Ana. I'll remember to do that to Abraxas next time." The words had slipped so casually out of his mouth, he didn't realize he had called her 'Ana'.

Hermione's legs refused to budge. "Uh... you called me.. Ana?"

Tom's eyes widen, and wanted to slap himself senseless for making such a careless error. "Well, we're Heads now, so isn't it encouraged that we call each other by our first names..."

"Fine, _Tom_. But 'Ana' is a nickname. Aren't you supposed to call Anaïs?" Hermione wanted to laugh at his priceless expression, but decided not to. _Oh, if only I could take a picture, and label it "A Stuttering Voldie, Confused" and show it to Harry and Ron._

Tom didn't know what to say. His train of thought was in shambles, and he couldn't think of an excuse.

Smiling, she mumbled, "It's okay. You can call me that. Don't forget the meeting later on tonight." Her banshee side had finally disappeared, as she left the Common Room.

A squeak from his feet turned his attention from the departing Head Girl to the ferret on his foot. Speaking to the ferret, he muttered, "I should just leave you like this, Abraxas. You deserved it."

Muttering the counterspell, Abraxas seemed ruffled. He was not only physically bruised, but his pride was bruised too. "She.. turned... me into a _ferret_ and flung me around!"

Tom allowed himself a rare smile. Abraxas turned to him, eyes narrowing and a snarl ready at his lips. "And why are _you_ here all the time, around her? You just want her to be in league with us, right? So if I marry her, she automatically follows you. It's a win-win situation for you. So why..."

Tom could remember the countless times he wished Abraxas Malfoy used his brain. But this was not the time. At the moment, he wished Abraxas was his naive little self. Confounding Abraxas, he altered his train of thought, and Obliviated his memory, before knocking him unconscious.

He didn't need someone questioning his motives. At least not right now.


	11. Preparations

A/N: According to J.K., Dumbledore is a homosexual. I guess it explains his obsession with Grindelwald, since he was, apparently, attracted to him. And I always thought he had something for McGonagall. This little piece of news will fit in this story, since Grindelwald is defeated this year.

I also realized I have a lot of spelling errors and a few grammatical errors in my previous chapter. Sorry - I usually write these in a rush.

**deeps85** - I'm waiting for an opportune moment to put that in. 

**AAMRNluver16 **

**blindfaithoperadiva**

**CherryGrlZuli**

**AriesFireGirl **- He's not dead.. yet. But I need him out of the way during the Halloween Ball.

**-jellyacey- **- Malfoy will forever be a prick here. And Adonis is not dead. I just need him disabled so he can't go to the Halloween Ball. After all, we're looking for some Tom/Hermione goodness, no?

**killtheenviousmoon** - Here's a little taster to what happens to a hormonal Tom.

* * *

**Chapter 11 - Preparations  
**

* * *

"Now, as some of you may know, we're having a Halloween Ball this year…" started Tom, but the prefects were quicker. Cheers and babbling erupted from the normally quiet table; this was the first Ball of the year, and to some, it was pretty darn important. 

Usually it was Tom who told them to 'Shut up', but Hermione shouted over the din, "Okay, you can gush about your potential dates and your dresses **later**. Or else we'll just cancel this…"

The room fell deathly silent.

Smiling serenely, Hermione continued. "Thank you. Now that wasn't that hard, wasn't it?"

Tom briefed everyone else, briefly stealing glances at her. She seemed to have an aura of power around her, no matter when, and as each day passed, she appeared to more and more… for lack of better word, _beautiful_.

There was no conscience nagging him about that anymore, the fact those feelings had taken over his normally cold, calculated logic. He kind of liked those feelings too.

"Remember, it's _this Friday_," said Hermione, "Now, who wants to be in charge of decorations?"

---

"Is he going to be alright, Madame Auclair?" she whispered, in the sterile rooms of the Hospital Wing. The matronly woman sighed.

"It was a very nasty bump. He should be out by next week."

"Next week? So… he can't go to the Ball?"

"I'm afraid not. Even if he woke, he wouldn't be able to go due to his physical state. A broken tibia and the injury on his head…"

"Thanks, Madame. I need to get back to class now."

"No problem, Miss Burke."

Even though his body was not responding, Adonis could hear every word. He could feel a lone tear trickling down his face – he couldn't go to the Ball.

"Now I know you heard all that, Mister Prince," Madame Auclair's voice sounded, "And that means you're getting better."

Now if only he could get out of the bed and ask Ana.

---

Things had gone on smoothly for the Ball preparations by Wednesday, and Hermione was exhausted. Her uncle, Caractus, had been nice enough to send her an emerald dress, along with some jewelry that was part of her 'present' and 'heirloom'.

But in the mass of jewelry, one thing had caught her eye. The piece of jewelry she had seen in Sirius' old house, Grimmauld Place. The same one that Harry came back with after Dumbledore's death, with R.A.B.

The emeralds on the locket lined the shapely S, signifying Slytherin.

Curious, she opened it up. It was empty. But once she opened it up, a surge of power erupted, and two familiar faces filled the empty slots, along with their names.

_Harry Potter & Ronald Weasley _

She remembered Harry telling her how the locket came into Caractus' hands. Tom's mother had sold it to him for a few measly Galleons, and he kept it. But why had he sent it to her? And was it not sold to Hepzibah Smith, who was killed, and was stolen by Tom Riddle?

Looking back at the two smiling, waving faces of her best friends in the future, she heaved a sigh. What she was doing now was for them. Harry would have parents, and Ron wouldn't be ridiculed for his lack of wealth. Anti-Muggleborn sentiment would be lessened. And perhaps by being here, she already altered time. Hepzibah Smith would not get this locket this time.

Nagini had slithered up to her, and coiled around her arm, gazing at the locket herself.

_It's pretty… It would suit you, my mistress…_

She was startled. When she heard Nagini telling Tom to bugger off, she thought it was her imagination, and she played along, after seeing his expression. But this was different.

"…I'm not a Parseltongue. So why do I understand you, Nagini? I think I'm going crazy…" she murmured, agape.

_You can understand Parseltongue, but you cannot speak it yourself. Perhaps your lineage goes back to Slytherin, but the skills have been diluted, mistress. _

It was time to have a serious talk with Dumbledore.

---

"Well, I guessed Parseltongue would give you a certain advantage, Miss Burke," hummed Dumbledore, still sucking on a sherbet lemon. "Please help yourself."

Grabbing one, she felt at ease. She swore they were mixed with sedatives.

"The Burkes have a long line, leading back to the Peverells, who in turn, were related to Slytherin. As you may know, the Peverells were also related to the Gaunts. I believe a daughter of Ignotus Peverell married into the Gaunt family, and a daughter from that marriage married into the Burke family. As you may deduce, Parseltongue is more of a male-dominant skill," he recited, as if he had researched it in depth.

"So I'm not supposed to have this skill," muttered Hermione, her fingers running over the locket, contemplating.

"No, not really. You can hear Parseltongue, but you are unable to speak it. Your snakeling, Nagini, was correct." Nagini hissed in satisfaction. "Now, I believe you need to pay a visit to young Mr. Prince."

Hermione exited the room, just to realize that Dumbledore never Silencio-ed the room.

---

Tom was in shock.

He didn't mean to hear their conversation. His ears just naturally pricked when he heard Dumbledore's voice said 'Parseltongue'. And then it just went downhill after that.

_So Ana is also a descendant of Salazar. A distant one nonetheless, but she can still understand Parseltongue. _

So he wasn't the only lonely heir of Slytherin left. It left a warm, fuzzy feeling inside him.

---

Abraxas Malfoy was still fuming from the events. The… girl… had _embarrassed_ him and got away with it. He still wanted to marry her. He _needed_ to marry her, to show everyone he was in control.

And she had cleared some of his memory. Damn her!

He knew many boys in Slytherin who wanted to ask her for the dance. Gabriel Nott, for one. But they knew Malfoy wanted to ask her, so they didn't ask. They were afraid of repercussions.

But if a Malfoy couldn't even pull it off, they would no longer be afraid. It would destabilize his position, and instill less fear.

He needed to see Tom about this problem. He didn't know what to do.

---

It was Thursday night, and he still didn't have a date. There were so many girls who had thrown themselves at him, but he didn't want to go with them.

To tell the truth, he had never looked forward to them, unlike this year. Something had changed his whole perspective on dances. And he had more than just an inkling to who it was.

Abraxas had approached him in the morning, about Ana. Tom couldn't feel slightly annoyed, and he told Abraxas, in the most brotherly tone he could muster, that he could give up on her. And then he altered Malfoy's thoughts, so that he would ask Clarissa Putnam out.

He had no idea why he turned Abraxas away from Ana. Like Abraxas said after Tom had reverted him back from a ferret, Tom would win both ways. It was the weak feeling again.

And now he was still on the couch in the Head's Room, watching the flames in the fireplace flicker, when he still had no date.

A voice popped in his head. _Ask Ana. _

_What?! I just told Abraxas to back off, and you tell me to ask her myself? _

_So what? You can alter Abraxas' memory again. You want this, don't you? _

He lounged there silently, unsure of what to reply.

_Fine. You won. _He hissed back at his inner child.

Walking up to Ana's door, he rapped softly on the wood. The door swung open, revealing Hermione in a tank and boxers – her pajamas. He temporarily lost control of speech, as he gaped at her clothing.

---

Hermione was annoyed. She was about to go to sleep, and someone had knocked on her door.

Opening it, she saw Tom, who was dumbstruck.

_Smart, Hermione. It's the twenties, and you're wearing a tank and boxers to sleep. Well, anyway, he does look kind of… funny. _

"So what did you knock on my door for?" she grumbled, trying to keep a straight face.

---

Tom felt his throat run dry. It had always been the girls asking him, not the other way round.

"Uh… Will you go with me to the Halloween Ball?"


	12. Changes

A/N: Perhaps this will be the last HP fanfic I will write, since the series has ended. And after all, things do get a bit tedious in the end.

**blindfaithoperadiva** - yeah. Type 'Dumbledore' and 'Gay', you come up with a lot of articles. I found out since it was printed on my local newspaper, but when i searched for it on Google, there were loads.

**deeps85 - **Type 'Dumbledore' and 'Gay' in any search engine, and there's bound to be loads of articles on it. I found out on my local newspaper.

**Gertyfull Angel**

**-jellyacey-**

**Darkness-Lightness - **It's a DEFINITE YES.

**FiresRain **

**classygyrl**

**JennBenn3148 **- You've got most of it in a nutshell. At first I planned to do that, but since you mentioned it, I might change it.

**CherryGrlZuli **- Same. I always thought Dumbledore would have something for McGonagall, but now it appears not. ho hum.

**Hotkat144**

* * *

**Chapter 12 - Changes

* * *

**

Hermione could not believe her ears. She thought she had been failing at her list that she had written in the first few days, and now the_ almighty _Tom Riddle was asking her for a dance? Heck, she had planned to go with Adonis as a friend, but since he was stuck in a hospital, she decided to go stag.

This was definitely another moment she _had_ to show Harry… and Ron… if she ever went back. She was brought back to the present by Tom's quivering voice, "I mean, if you…"

Rubbing her eyes and feigning tiredness, she mumbled, "Yeah, sure," and slowly closed the door. She didn't want to show him that she was happy with it. But his hand was faster, and pushed it open. Hesitating for a second, he continued, "You sure you're not hooking up with Prince, right?"

"Look, if I was going with Adonis, I wouldn't have said yes. Now, let me go back to sleep!" She forcefully closed the door before he could dig any further.

Sitting on her bed, she pondered. If she got him to change, then Ron wouldn't be dead. They had remained friends after having broken up over their differences in personalities, and he had dated Lavender. Hermione was going to be Lavender's bridesmaid, until Ron was killed while on mission.

Harry had been devastated – two of the most important people in his life had been killed due to Voldemort, and he sought revenge. That was the other reason why she came back to stop Tom Riddle from becoming Voldemort.

Hermione lay down and attempted to sleep. But the thoughts plagued her till midnight, when she was tired enough to nod off.

---

A tsunami of euphoria hit Tom Riddle.

He hadn't felt so giddy in… forever. He had never experienced such joy in such a simple answer.

She had said yes to him. And confirmed she wasn't going out with Prince. Even though Prince was unmoving on the hospital bed in the Wing, he couldn't help but feel jealous he could still be so close to Ana.

And he hadn't gotten his mind over what she wore to sleep. It was sacrilegious in society to wear such revealing clothes.

_But she's wearing them to sleep, you pervert. It's not like you've properly seen what females wear to sleep. _

A top that had two thin straps that went over her shoulders, all in deep blue, and a pair of black boxers, along with ruffled, slightly bushy hair. It was screaming subliminal messages to his mind, and he tried his best to ignore them, but they came back with a vengeance. Looking at his watch, he noticed it was time for his regular meeting with the Slytherins in the Common Room.

---

"Any new updates?" came the authoritative voice of Tom Riddle, at one of the chairs, watching his followers seated around him, in a circle.

"Yes," growled Malfoy's voice from a corner, "Burke."

_Dammit. I'll need to change his memory more next time. _Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

"Silence!" he shouted. "Now, what about her?"

"I need to marry her. But she's not reacting the way I want her to. I would like some help…"

Gabriel Nott gasped as he noticed Tom's normally obsidian eyes flicker between red and black. "Master... your eyes…"

"You will not ask for help from us, Abraxas. And stay away from her," he snarled, ignoring Nott.

"But…" Tension was thick in the air. Malfoy was visibly trembling, despite the air of pride he used to keep around himself.

Tom's eyes turned completely crimson for the moment. "DO… NOT… QUESTION… ME! CRUCIO!" he bellowed, and Malfoy fell to the ground twitching, and yowling in pain. His bones seemed to break at every point, and the pain was excruciating.

His mind turned back to the said girl, and how he had last seen her – divine.

"Master, your eyes are back to normal!" shouted Nott, pointing at Tom's eyes.

"What are you talking about, Nott?"

"Your eyes were blood red just then… when you Crucioed Malfoy…"

---

"I was gonna ask you as a friend, but since you're in this state, I decided to go stag…"

At least there was something to hold onto in his unconscious state as his body healed itself. Adonis waited every day for Hermione to visit him and tell him her day. And he was glad – she had planned to ask him for the Halloween Ball.

"But then Riddle suddenly popped up and asked me. It was kind of weird…"

Riddle? Adonis' blood boiled when he heard the name. And he had asked her to the dance? What did she say to him?

"I mean, frankly, wouldn't Malfoy kick his ass? And yeah, Malfoy hasn't been bothering me for a _long_ time. It's kind of weird too..."

At least Malfoy wasn't bothering her. But he agreed - it was fishy. Malfoy wouldn't give up a good catch unless there was a special reason he couldn't get to Ana. Perhaps Riddle had persuaded him not to; since he himself asked her to dance. If Adonis was fully conscious and able to move his body, he would have goaded Ana to tell him her reply.

"Anyway, it is kind of sad that you can't go… And Uncle (she had somehow said it with some exasperation) had high hopes for the dance…"

So what did she say to Riddle?!

"And so… I said yes to Riddle."

Adonis could feel an itch. A very itchy itch that nagged him to strangle Tom Riddle.

"Anyway, I gotta go. I'll come back soon, okay, Adonis."

Walking out of the whitewashed infirmary, Hermione sighed. She secretly wished she didn't have to lie to Adonis – her uncle said no such things about wanting her to mingle and find a suitable husband. But it seemed right at the time.

She couldn't say, "Hey, for the sake of my mission to save my future friends and the rest of the Wizarding World, I had to say yes, and somehow sway Tom Riddle's mind from complete world domination."

She had no one to really confide to. Maybe except Nagini. But she had to make the snake swear not to tell anyone else.

---

Tired from the day's events, Tom found himself back in the Head's Common Room, expectantly waiting for the dance. It was around noon – his free period, and he had planned to laze off.

Anaïs' pet snake was there. Tom tried to remember its name.

_It's Nagini, you dumb heir. I thought you would remember my name after last time. _

Tom eyed the snake, smiling evilly. "I can think of so many things I can do you right now…"

Nagini hissed, defiant. _And risk the wrath of my mistress? I think not. Despite what you think, I was there when you asked her. Your expression was priceless. _

"Shut up, Nagini." It was true. He didn't want to make Ana angry by crucifying her snake (if that was even possible) on the door. And the snake was damn observant. He didn't need an extra being hearing or seeing his actions last night.

_Now, there there, Heir of Slytherin. I like you quite a fair bit, and you suit my mistress, so I decided to let you know this. _

Tom's heart was pounding, listening intently.

_She misses home a lot. And you know where you can show it to her, right? _

Having lived in the castle, he knew what the snake was talking about. The Room of Requirement.

"Hey, wait, how do _you_ know about that? You've only been here for a while!"

Slithering away, Nagini had a smug look on her face. _Everyone has their secrets. _


	13. Halloween Ball

A/N: Gah. More reviews me writing faster. Currently 10307 hits, 34 favs, 73 alerts.

**deeps85** - I was thinking of writing my own fiction after this. But I haven't had a brainwave yet, nor will I have enough time.

**Hotkat144**

**-jellyacey- **- heh. Adonis'll be out to kill once he's better.

**CherryGrlZuli**

**Darkness-Lightness **- Yeah, i'll keep that in mind.

**blueskyangel **- I don't know really. The only way they can stay together is if Hermione stays in the past, which (according to varying thoughts about time travel) may be impossible, since she is freezing the present, and time needs to move. This could've have had a happy ending, but I decided not to have it that way. bleh.

* * *

**Chapter 13 - Halloween Ball  
**

* * *

"I honestly wish I was going with Tom Riddle to the Ball..." came Eileen's familiar whisper in the library. 

"He hasn't asked anyone yet, you know?"

"Maybe he's by himself first, then picking up a girl randomly in the dance."

"Well, I hope that's me," Eileen smugly spoke, brushing imaginary lint off her cloak.

Hermione cringed. _Thank god it's a masquerade. Or else I'll be attacked by hordes of Riddle-groupies. _

She had finally received her mask in the morning, via Owl Post. It was an emerald studded mask that only covered her eyes, with a gold trim, courtesy of Caractus Burke, which had to be returned after use. No doubt it was an expensive artifact, and it had sticking charms which would attach it to her face without leaving a clammy feeling or discomfort.

It was already late in the afternoon, and she hurried back to her room to prepare. She could hear Tom's shuffling feet inside his own room, preparing. Opening her closet, she pulled out the dress, in all its glory, and slipped it on. The elves had also helped her iron out some of the flatter areas, since it had been slightly creased during the mailing.

The silk gown touched the floor, and her feet and shoes disappeared under it. Aiming her wand at her usually untameable hair, she whispered a charm that tied her hair up and shaped it.

She looked in the large floor mirror next to the dresser – her hair had now turned back to its natural color, auburn, with blonde highlights, and sported a beehive, just like Audrey Hepburn did, in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

_Too bad it's not even made yet. _

Leaving out the tiara, she put on gold dangly earrings and picked up the locket. She opened it, and gazed into the pictures.

_This is for you, guys. _

She put it on, tilting her head forward to work the catch at the back. The clock on the wall chimed six. Hermione was never the one for makeup, so she decided to go _au naturale_. Placing the mask over her face, she gave one last look at her reflection and left her room.

---

Nervously, Tom waited in the Head's Common Room. He had decided not to wear a mask – he could not afford it (though he would never tell anyone that). And when Hermione stepped out, with her mask donned on, he was lost for words.

He could hardly recognize behind her mask.

"Ana?"

Smiling, she removed the mask. "Who did you think I was? Eileen Prince?" she joked.

Tom muttered something incoherently, and grinned sheepishly back. He had noticed she had worn no makeup – she looked beautiful anyway, and was wearing the Slytherin locket.

_She has a right to too. _

"Come on. Let's go to the Great Hall," he spoke, taking her hand, almost dying of a heart attack at the contact. She put on her mask again before they exited.

"You don't need to put on your mask now…"

Keeping a straight face, she replied, "You'll see why I'm putting it on now."

---

She was right.

Tom noticed the majority of the female population glaring daggers at Ana when they entered, hand in hand. The glass in Eileen Prince's hand almost shattered as she tightened her grip in anger.

"That was _supposed_ to be me!" she squealed, bawling and running off to a dark corner.

Tom took no notice of her. Instead, he and Hermione headed for the dance floor, waiting for the first tune to play.

Instead, Dumbledore stepped onto the magically created stage, and amplifying his voice, he boomed, "I will be away for a week, and so my new apprentice, Minerva McGonagall, will be taking over for a week."

A beet red, young Professor McGonagall stepped on the stage and awkwardly waved at the students. She seemed to shrink behind Dumbledore.

"When I come back, she will be a Teaching Assistant. That is all for now." He clicked his fingers grandly, and his voice was no longer amplified, before he hopped off the stage, with McGonagall in tow.

The band struck up a slow tune. Hermione slapped herself mentally for expecting typical dance music in her time, which did not exist in the Twenties. The only songs they had were either classical or jazz.

_Thank god for dance classes. _She had dance classes till she started Hogwarts.

Tom pulled her up as he recognized the song – the slow tune struck a chord in him every time he heard it.

_Vocalise Opus 34 No. 14 by Sergei Rachmaninoff. _

He noticed the boys gazing at Ana, and pulled her closer possessively, as his arms snaked around her waist.

Naturally, Hermione held onto his shoulders, but when he pulled her closely, she could smell him – pine, lavender, jasmine, sage, all fused together in a wondrous aroma. She understood why girls fell for him now.

Tom, on the other hand, was awfully self-conscious. He glimpsed Malfoy having trouble getting rid of Clarissa Putnam, and he seemed not to pay any attention to him and Ana.

_Ana…_ He felt hot under his robes, since Ana was almost touching him. If he made any awkward moves, she would be able to tell…

Hermione, on the other hand, was desperately trying not to lean forwards and give herself away by hugging him too closely. During her dance with Viktor, it had not been like this. No. She didn't feel like touching him closely.

_That's only because there was nothing more than a crush, Mione. _

---

They both headed to the drinks after a few dances, and the tunes changed to some annoying songs that neither of them liked.

Without Tom by her side, Hermione swore she would have been mauled by most of the females at the drinks table. They both opted for water, and quickly drained from the goblets.

"Umm… I've got something to show you," started Tom nervously, "Do you want to go now?"

Hermione nodded, slightly flushed from the dancing. Disappearing into the crowd, he guided her gently, up the shifting flights of stairs, up to the Seventh floor.

They stopped next to the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance, and Hermione knew what it was he wanted to show her.

"Now think of something you really want. Something you miss."

Closing her eyes, she wished.

A door appeared, and she walked in, followed by Tom Riddle. But before he entered, he noticed a familiar snake slithering past, hissing.

_Nice work. _

---

Hermione noticed there wasn't much in the room. Photo frames lined the walls, silent, but moving.

_What did you expect, Hermione? You wished for Harry and Ron to be here… and this is the most the Room can do. _

She approached the largest picture, the one where she was hugging Harry and Ron, and whispered something into Ron's ear.

A lone tear trickled down. That was no snapshot – it was a memory. The memory of after the destruction of the locket Horcrux, and when Ron was starting to go out with Lavender.

---

Tom's eyes wandered around the room. They were all pictures, of Hermione and two boys whom she appeared to be extremely fond of.

The feeling was seizing up again, as he felt unsure of his position. And then he saw Ana, tears in her eyes, as she looked at the largest picture in the room.

"Who are they?" he asked, walking up to her, and hoping she wouldn't say the words he feared. If she said she was going out with one of them…

Hermione sniffled. "My best friends from where I came from. I miss them a lot."

Tom relaxed. And then she did the unexplainable.

She hugged him, and cried.


	14. Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen

A/N: I may start a HGSS or a HGRL after this one.

**Darkness-Lightness - **I'm starting to love Nagini too. She appears in this chapter.

**rubyinnle**

**Rowen Lovecraft**

**Monnbeam**

**Hotkat144**

**-jellyacey- **- For now, Malfoy has decided to lie low, and will continue to do so until I think of something. I mean, with Tom threatening to do something to him if he gets near Hermione, there's not much he can do... yet

**CherryGrlZuli**

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l **- yeah, Tom is slightly OOC, but I'll try and make it up to you guys.

**deeps85**

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**killtheenviousmoon** **- **Sadly, I won't have much time to update, due to coursework and various other evil bits of homework. But I'll try.

**Olivia - **I don't have much of a choice. If I kept the first chapter, and ended it with a happy ending with both of them surviving, the first wouldn't make sense. And I don't want to take it off. I could twist it so it could be a happy ending though... but that would make it weird.

**nAuGHty NiKkI13**

* * *

**Chapter 14 - Oh How The Mighty Have Fallen

* * *

**

Lovingly, Tom remembered every moment after she cried. He felt like he understood her loss, and hugged her back, and attempted to comfort her. Her tears had dried and she had said, "Thank you."

Usually, 'thank you'-s to Tom were pretty shallow. After kissing some serious teacher-butt by helping them out, he would get a 'thank you', like protocol. After helping out with homework, people would say 'thanks', to make sure Tom would help them out again.

But the kind Ana had murmured that night was something much more. It was different – like she had meant every word of it, with her feelings backing it up.

"MASTER!"

Tom snapped out of reverie, and growled. "What?" Gabriel Nott looked like he was almost going to empty his bowels right then, with the fright in his face.

"We… were talking about initiating new members… And you seemed…"

Swearing on the inside, Tom decided to pay attention to the workings of his 'little study group'.

Ishmael Lestrange, Tom noted, a muscular yes-man in his group, seemed to be bursting with ideas. "How about Burke, my Lord? She's the most powerful all-round witch in the school?"

Malfoy, who was still peeved at having been stuck with Clarissa Putnam at the Halloween Ball, glowered at Lestrange.

"You think I haven't suggested that?!" he snarled, continuing, "I've tried everything apart from physical violence upon her herself!"

Lestrange bit back. "Well, why didn't you ask _us_ to help?"

The two kept scowled at each other, but soon after, a younger member ran in. "Prince has finally woken up!"

_Malfoy's in deep shite, once Prince tells. Along with Crabbe and Goyle. And Prince… Doesn't he…? _

"If we want her in, we need to get to her before Prince can stop us," Tom boomed, finding the cold, calculative side of him had taken hold, "She must be heading for the Infirmary now."

Passing a mirror, he saw his reflection. Eyes, red. They looked pretty neat too.

---

The girls, being their gossipy little selves, were still talking about the 'mystery girl' who danced with Tom Riddle.

Hermione didn't care. _As long as they don't know it's me. _

She had been told that Adonis had woken up, but was still weak and needed to stay for a little longer. Nevertheless, she felt she needed to see them.

Running to the Infirmary, she found her way blocked, by a group of Slytherin boys led by Tom Riddle.

Tom Riddle, with crimson red eyes. Great.

"Get out of the way," she spoke, trying to withhold her temper.

"Now, now, Burke, we just wanted to waylay you to give you a proposal," spoke Malfoy, on Tom's right, hands in robe pocket. Hermione knew he was ready to grab his wand and Gabriel Nott too.

"We'd like you to join our secret society. As the first female to," spoke Nott sweetly.

Hermione already knew the answer. "No. Now, **let me through**," she snarled, gritting her teeth, and itching to blast them away.

Tom didn't want to say anything. It looked like she was going to explode, and yet Malfoy was signaling to him to deal a blow.

_Ana… or the Slytherins? _

He had spend the first few years gaining their respect, to get them to band together, to form his own Death Eaters. Yet, in front of him, was a rebel to his cause. A rebel he had only knew for a few months, and had felt something unexplainable towards.

His Death Eaters were tense. In Slytherin, you had to be in control to sway minds. You had to be in control to gain their respect.

Torn, Tom could hear the voice in his head musing.

_Think of the greater good. _

It was an ambiguous signal. But the logical side of him won over.

"Well," came Tom's voice, "I'm afraid we have a little problem." The tension in the Death Eaters dissipated. "We don't take 'no' for an answer that well…"

Hermione was angry and couldn't control it anymore. "I'm sorry, my **Lord Voldemort**," she spoke sarcastically, giving him a mock curtsey, "It's definitely _my_ problem that I'm _not_ joining your motley crew of **Death Eaters**."

The whole group seemed taken aback. Tom had been used to surprises, and thought nothing could have shocked him more than finding out she was heir to Slytherin, or when he found out he was a wizard.

"How.."

"Stay away from me, Riddle," she growled; and seizing the chance, she pushed through the crowd before anyone could stop her.

---

"So you rejected joining Tom's group?" asked Adonis weakly, still concerned, "What did he do?"

"Well, I called him 'Lord Voldemort' and his group of idiots 'Death Eaters', and they let me through," she recounted, still chuckling at their looks.

Adonis was shocked. "You've only been here for a few months, and you know the names already? It took me forever!"

Playfully, Hermione patted him on the head. "I have my ways, Adonis. Anyway, he's a prick." Adonis relaxed visibly.

"So how was the Ball?"

Sighing, she described the night, and how different he had been.

---

_You screwed up big time, mister,_ hissed Nagini, slithering into the Head's Common Room.

Tom was sitting at the table, looking down, his arms cradling to his head. "I know, Nagini," he whispered, sitting up and looking at the snakeling.

_Perhaps I made a big mistake_, she hissed, _perhaps I chose the wrong person_. _Perhaps Adonis Prince would be a better master for my mistress… _

Electricity seemed to shoot through Tom. "No, not him… please tell me, what I can do? I know I screwed up big time, but how do I make it up to her?"

Nagini smiled inwardly. _Oh how the mighty have fallen… _


	15. To Care For You

A/N: Happy happy happy. 3 C2s, 41 Favs, 87 Alerts. This story beat my old one's record!

**-jellyacey- **- I got the chapter title from something random I said. Can't really remember it now.

**Darkness-Lightness **- Well, I doubt Nagini tells Voldie what to do in the future.

**Hotkat144 **

**nAuGHty NiKkI13 - **And kudos to you for reviewing!

**Stephanie**

**Rowen Lovecraft **- I don't plan for these two to be perfect for each other. They'll have squabbles now and then :

**killtheenviousmoon **- Sadly, my brother thinks I have no life, since I'm writing stories and reading a lot of fanfiction. But I'll try.

**blindfaithoperadiva **- Nagini is sly and obedient, not evil. Don't worry - Nagini won't order Tom to kill Adonis.

**Stickman-sam **- I'm not sure that I really want a happy ending for Abraxas. He's being a big git here, and eventually forces his family to become Death Eaters, so yeah.

* * *

**Chapter 15 - To Care For You**

* * *

Normally, Tom Marvolo Riddle prided himself in his vast knowledge. 

His ability to solve ciphers, puzzles, ace tests and the such placed him higher than his fellow classmates. But now, he was truly stumped.

Not on one thing. Instead, two.

The first – Apologizing. He hadn't really apologized before. Ever. Unless you counted groveling and sycophancy, which he used in his first few years at Hogwarts to gain ground, he never apologized to _anyone_. At least, not from his heart.

And he had a sneaking feeling it wouldn't work with Ana.

The second – Love. The biggest puzzle to face ever face Tom. The snakeling had mentioned something about it to him. He had understood girls before Ana alright – flirty, fragile things on two legs which reproduced and could easily be swayed. But she was different. More than just a piece of delicate fluff with killer legs. Yet to be in 'love' with her was such a foreign thought to him – or so he thought.

_Ever felt something warm run through your body when she is near you? _

Tom stifled a bark.

_That was not a sexual innuendo, you idiot. You understand what I mean, don't you? _

Nodding, he signaled Nagini to continue.

_Then you feel something for her. You care for her. _The snakeling was wise beyond her years. _And if you lose her, you will regret it for the rest of your life. _

"So what do I do now?"

Nagini rolled her eyes in exasperation. _You are so stupid sometimes. Apologize, you dolt. _

And with that, she slithered away before he could ask her anymore questions.

---

When he found Ana, she was sitting on Prince's bed, talking to him.

He cleared his throat, catching their attentions. "Ana, I need to talk to you for a sec."

She gave a defiant glare. "We can talk here," Hermione growled, ready to form her 'Molly Weasley' stance. Prince nodded and frowned at him.

Tom didn't like the look on Prince's face. There was something… possessive… about it.

"How did you find out about my name and my group's name?" The moment those words left his mouth, he wished he could slap himself for stupidity. "No. Scratch that."

The tension seemed to ease slightly. "Look, I was really sorry. I didn't mean to force you in – Malfoy and Nott were pressuring me."

Hermione wanted to bite back with a snarky comment, but decided not to go too far. "If you are in control of your own little group, then why are you being pressured? That would just mean that you are some puppet leader."

Her words rung true in his mind. A silence fell in the ward, and Tom was about to speak again, but no words came out. Almost dejectedly, he exited the ward, without saying a further word.

"Nasty piece of work," piped Adonis, readjusting his sheets, "I don't understand what people see in him."

Hermione hesitated. "I mean… I think he's changing…"

Adonis' eyes widened. "Now you too? I can't believe you Ana!"

She refused to confirm his statement, but she felt something had changed in Tom. Something good, it seemed.

---

It had been a week since the dance and she still hadn't gotten over the fact her precious Tom had danced with some green bimbo. The girl was supposed to be _her._

And from what she had seen, the girl didn't even have a figure. Hiding behind rich jewelry and her expensive dress, the girl probably had nothing to cover up. She could have bought the jewelry herself, along with the emerald mask.

What had her darling Tom seen in that slut? She herself had so much more to offer, so much more. And she herself was far prettier.

Scowling, she threw another perfume bottle at her vanity table, and it hit the mirror, the unbreakable charm in place. The girl seemed familiar too, like Eileen had seen her before.

_She's a Hogwarts' student! Of course you've seen her before! _

Eileen Prince huffed angrily and plopped on her bed, still irritated. She had spent the past five years going after Tom Riddle. _Five bloody years, and some bimbo gets there before me. _

She had seen the look in Tom's eye. There was a special look he gave the girl, not one he gave to anyone else. Not even her. And Eileen was mad about it.

An owl swooped in – and Eileen recognized it immediately. Beelzebub, one of her parents' private owls, dropped a letter off and flew off, not bothering to wait for her answer.

_Daughter, _

_Check up on Adonis. We shall be sending him an owl soon. _

_We have discussed with Lord and Lady Crabbe about your marriage to their son, and we have decided that your wedding shall be held once you graduate from Hogwarts. _

_Do not think about escaping from this, or there will be serious repercussions. _

_Father and Mother. _

Eileen willed herself not to cry. Her impending wedding to the idiot – she had forgotten about that, and hated how her parents refused to allow her to marry anyone else.

Not even Tom.

But she loved her dear Tom.

Adonis had it so much better than her – he could choose his bride, as long as she was pureblood. And he had become so distant lately, stuck with Anaïs Burke. He was too close to her just to be friends, she thought.

Crumpling up the letter and throwing it into the bin, she walked out of the Slytherin Common Room towards the Infirmary, to have a talk with her brother.

---

"Adonis!"

Groaning, Adonis muttered, "Ana, stop it."

Eileen poked him in the ribs. "I'm not Ana, you dork. Now get up. I need to talk to you."

Having lived with her twin brother for seventeen – almost eighteen years, she knew his every move. "Why are you in the hospital? Who did this to you? And why did you call me Ana?"

Adonis was fiddling with the edge of his blanket, unwilling to look at his sister. "It's not like I'm going to tell anyone or anything. I'm your sis!"

Hesitant, Adonis knew if he didn't say anything, she would bug him further. "I.."


	16. Girl In The Kitchen

A/N: I hope this makes up for the shortness of the last chappie!

**RyanKathrynCelia**

**deeps85 - **The last chapter was kind of short since I was so busy. I hope this makes up for it!

**Hotkat144 - **bwahahahahahaha :smirks evilly: Read on!

**Darkness-Lightness **- This chapter doesn't have that much of a cliffie. I decided to be nice and give you the rest. I mean, the end is kind of predictable too.

**JennBenn3148 **- Tom will find out Hermione is a time traveller, but I'm not sure when it will be - after she gets back or before. But yes, to Tom's logical mind, he could have turned back time and prevented her from going. I wouldn't go with the dream thing - it's too cliche for my tastes.

**nAuGHty NiKkI13 **- :laughs like a madman: I'm not going to tell you! That would spoil it... and plus, that way, I have more to write about.

**fanfiction69**

* * *

**Chapter 16 - Girl In The Kitchen

* * *

**

"I got attacked by Crabbe and Goyle," muttered Adonis, ignoring his sister's noncommittal grunt that followed. He felt guilty for not telling her about Ana and Tom, but he felt it to be best that way. Eileen would turn into a banshee and attack Ana – something that Adonis didn't want to happen.

"You're not fully answering the question, little brother. _Why_ did my future ugly husband attack you, along with his spineless friend?" she said, giving him her glare.

To Adonis, Eileen had changed so much. Gone was the reserved, polite and nice girl who harbored a small crush on Tom Riddle in Second Year. She was now a witch out on the kill, to search and destroy anything in her way. Every day, she would cake herself with makeup, shower in perfumes and choose expensive, revealing clothes to catch Riddle's attention. And she had failed.

But somehow, Ana had.

"Malfoy sent them. Wants me to stay away from Ana." Eileen couldn't keep her abnormally large nose out of anything. She had a knack for listening into his conversations, reading his owls, and he despised it.

"Ohhh. Right. But you're not in Malfoy's way, are you?" she leered, trying to dig for details.

It was times like this he really wished he could banish his sister. She was turning into the complete opposite of what she was like with friends in public. Not the polite, friendly girl. She was now the bitchy, nagging, cruel sister.

"No, I'm not. It's not my fault she doesn't want to marry him herself. Now bugger off, or I'll owl Father about your dislike for your marriage to Crabbe."

Eileen turned dangerous, her obsidian eyes boring into her brother's. "You wouldn't dare…"

Adonis was enjoying baiting his sister, and mused loudly, "What if I told him you didn't want to marry Crabbe, and wanted to…"

Snarling, Eileen, exited the Infirmary, hissing, "I'm leaving. You'd better not."

---

It was already mid-November, and drafts were entering the castle, despite the heating. Alone, Hermione walked across the Grounds, her sea green scarf wrapped tightly around her.

As she stood by the lake, she missed seeing the familiar landmarks of her time – the Whomping Willow, leading to the Shrieking Shack, where she had first met the ex-convict Sirius Black, Death Eater Peter Pettigrew, in the company of Harry, Ron, Remus, and Professor Snape.

A solitary tear trickled down her face, as she remembered her Third Year.

A voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Yeh shouldn't be out here, Miss, or yeh'll catch a cold."

She turned, to see a boy slightly taller than her, slightly beefy, sans beard. "HAGRID!" she shouted, and hugged him, forgetting that he was from the past, unlike her.

It took her a while to realize, pulling back, only to notice a dumbstruck Rubeus Hagrid. "I'm... sorry… I just needed… someone to… hug." Hermione wished she could disappear behind her scarf and coat in embarrassment.

Hagrid seemed to ignore it, and gave her a cheery smile. "Well, it's alright, missy. Name's Rubeus Hagrid. I'm sure you've heard of me…" His face fell at the words, but Hermione knew exactly what he was talking about.

Patting him on the shoulder, she smiled comfortingly back at him. "I didn't believe a single word. It wasn't you who sent out the basilisk, which killed Myrtle. You didn't deserve to be kicked out."

A large tear appeared at the corner of his eye and hugged her. "You're the second person I know who believes me. You and good Perfessor Dumbledore." He pulled back, noticing he had soaked her coat with his tears. "I'm sorry…"

"It's alright, Hagrid. So what are you up to now?" she asked, rapidly changing the subject to something happier.

His goofy smile appeared again. "Well, the current Gameskeeper Byron Leister is teaching me, since he's leaving soon, and Perfessor Dumbledore got me to be the next Gameskeeper after him." He looked proud of himself, and Hermione felt her heart warm.

"That's really nice, Hagrid." Shivering slightly, she asked him, "Would you like to go with me to the Kitchens for a nice warm drink? It's awfully cold, since you stay out so much."

He nodded happily, and both of them entered the castle, unaware of a boy watching them from one of the towers.

---

Tom was in the Astronomy Tower, free from the strains of Slytherin life, watching the grounds. This was the second place he had met Ana – and he had made the error of trying to curse her.

And he saw her wander onto the grounds, standing by the lake, in deep thought. And then the boy he thought he had ousted had appeared. She swiveled around, and hugged him, like an old friend.

_Curious._ That was the thought that had momentarily occupied his logical mind before a pain had settled in, awaking his hurt. _Why do all the guys I despise, and have isolated from the main school body get what I cannot? _

She started comforting the crying Hagrid, and they hugged, and Tom had an inkling on what Hagrid was talking about. It was because of him. But Ana wasn't running away, like most girls did, screaming bloody murder, afraid of Hagrid murdering them.

Ana was exactly what her name described. Graceful, caring, almost angelic. But he had seen her when she was angry, and by then, she was more like a Valkyrie.

Watching them enter the castle, Tom steeled himself. He wanted to talk to her. He _needed_ to talk to her before he went crazy himself.

---

As she drank hot chocolate, she grinned at a humorous story that Hagrid was recounting about a mad Blast-Ended Skrewt that rampaged Leister's hut. But her mind wasn't on it. Her mind was thinking about a certain dark-haired Slytherin that seemed to have disappeared off her radar.

She let out a sigh of relief as Hagrid took one last gulp of his tea before setting the mug down for the House Elves, muttering, "Gotta get back to work. Come by to visit, alright, Ana?"

Smiling, she nodded and said goodbye, staying behind to finish her chocolate. But a few minutes after the half-giant left, new footsteps tapped across the tiles of the Kitchen. Turning, she saw the dark-haired boy she had been thinking of.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" asked Tom politely, signaling to where Hagrid had sat, moments ago. She nodded, and a House Elf appeared, asking for what he wanted. He gave an order, and it disappeared.

"So what brings you here?" Hermione inquired, pretending to be indifferent.

His boyish smirk caught her. "Well, I'm a growing boy, Ana. I need to eat too."

The atmosphere was relaxed, as she grabbed a muffin from the basket next to her. Her favourite – chocolate chips.

"Here's your coffee, Mister Riddle," squeaked the House Elf, appearing, and handing him the steaming cup before disappearing again with a snap. Taking a sip, he smiled, and gazed at her. Hermione knew he was looking, but pretended not to notice.

He looked as if he was going to ask her something, with the coffee in his hand, but hesitated, and swallowed nervously. Hermione stopped herself in time from laughing, and gave him an innocent, but questioning eyebrow.

"Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?" he mumbled, almost stuttering. Hermione knew, if it wasn't imperative for her mission to become friends with Tom, she would have fallen off her stool, rolling on the floor and laughing her head off at his expression and speech.

"Yes. Are you?" she asked, baiting him.

"Uh… yes. WouldyouliketogotoHogsmeadewithme?"

This was getting too funny, and she bit on her lip to stop the giggles from erupting. "What?" she asked, naively, "I didn't catch you." She had heard every word, loud and clear, but she needed confirmation.

"Would you like to… erm… go to Hogsmeade… with me?"

She had warmed up to Tom so much, it felt like a waste to say no. And something inside her wanted it too.

"Sure," she muttered, "I'll meet you at the gates at twelve?"

Tom felt like a dream had come true for him. It had just felt right to ask her then, like he had for the Halloween Ball. Giving off a true smile, he replied, "Yeah. I'll see you then."

As he exited, he had forgotten about his barely touched coffee. Instead, his mind was whirring about his possibilities with the girl back in the kitchen.


	17. Mornie utúlië

A/N: Sorry for the late update. Been busy lately, and it's been bogging me down. I hope this isn't too short!

**Hotkat144 **

**deeps85 - **my brother thinks I'm crazy whenever I laugh when I read funny ffs. My parents actually don't know that I write fanfiction for fun.

**(o.O) **

**SiriuslyFanatical**

**blindfaithoperadiva **- I don't know if you'll call the Tom in this chappie 'cute'.

**Darkness-Lightness **- Eileen will pop up again with the big guns sometime. I have to find some time to fit her in.

**maximum-calories **- Ah well. It's too bad I didn't pick up much of the younger Tom Riddle's personality from the books. JK Rowling doesn't write much about him apart his history, and his personality is pretty general, so I'm guessing most of the way.

**basketballstarhottie** - I'll take a peek when I'm free sometime.

**sarahface**

**JennBenn3148 - **Young Tom Riddle will forever be cute in my heart when he is in love with Hermione. bwah.

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**-jellyacey-**

**AAMRNluver16 **- Here's a part of Adonis' reaction..

**Deviant-Discord**

* * *

**Chapter 17 - Mornie utúlië **

* * *

Hermione, naturally, told Adonis of her date. It had somehow caused some rift between her and him – as if invisibly, someone had turned him away. They couldn't talk with the same ease as before; and Adonis seemed to have given up on something.

"I really thought you were different, Ana," he whispered sadly, right after she told him, and he left, despondent. Perhaps it was the fact he had lost another to Tom, like his sister.

She wished desperately she could tell him about her mission. But she questioned herself in the process. _Are you doing all this because of the mission? _

_Yes I am. _

_You could have just murdered him in cold blood, _mused her inner child.

_Dumbledore wouldn't have liked it. There was a reason he told me about 'world' and 'friends' before I left. _

_And here you are, getting ready for a date with him. What happened to being just 'friends'? _

Sighing, she hugged her coat tightly; she knew she couldn't win the argument with her mind. And frankly, she did have feelings for that Slytherin.

Gloved hands covered her eyes, a voice rumbling, as if the speaker's mouth was behind a scarf, "Guess who?"

"Tom?"

---

Tom Riddle had _never_ been late. He was always on time, or even earlier, to show off his self-discipline and control.

But somehow, he couldn't wake up, until his alarm charm buzzed off at twelve. He tried to remember what happened last night…

_No matter. Ana is waiting for you. Hurry up!_ His mind berated, and he hurriedly slipped on some warm clothes, and headed out.

---

"Wrong, you little whore," snarled the familiar voice. Hermione flinched at the familiarity of the voice.

Malfoy.

Before she could grab her wand, Abraxas had already disarmed her. Pushing away from him, she prepared to attack, Muggle-style.

"Wrong move, Burke," he bit, and pulled her by the neck, by her locket that had just wormed its way out of her coat when she went outside.

Yanking desperately back, the necklace holding the locket broke, and she fell back. Bracing herself, she flung a fist at Malfoy, ramming him in the mouth. His lip split in the dryness, and a single drop of blood fell from his lip, tainting the pure white snow beneath them.

Growling, he raised his own wand, and dabbed his mouth. "I'm tiring of this, Burke. You're going to be mine." With a quick flick of his wand, he stupefied her and levitated her unmoving body into the Forbidden Forest as he walked.

"Cheap trinket," he mused, eyeing the Slytherin locket still in his hand with distaste. And with that, he threw it in the snow behind him.

---

Tom ran as fast as he could, through the soft snow that had deftly laid itself on the grounds, huffing, as the air he breathed out became visible.

There was no one there.

He walked to the gate. Perhaps she was late?

She was always early, like him.

Gold and green, along with a dab of red, caught his eye.

Picking up the trinket, he brushed off the snow. The emeralds that decorated the S were still visible, and the gold necklace holding it had broken.

_Ana's locket. _

He was tempted to open it, but decided against it. The drop of blood interested him. If Ana was missing... and there was blood…

Tom pointed his wand at the blood, and muttered a spell he had remembered reading about. It would tell the caster if the blood belonged to anyone he knew, and who.

Words appeared over the blood, and Tom felt his blood boil.

_Abraxas Ptolemy Malfoy. _

---

Hermione stirred, and found her in a cave, magically bound to the wall. A smug Abraxas Malfoy stood in front of her.

"Finally awake I see," he spoke enticingly, "I thought I had finally gotten to you, but it doesn't seem so."

Glaring at the blonde, Hermione spat, "I will never marry some blonde albino like you."

His ice-cold eyes became daggers. "Gaggles of girls flock to Riddle. I thought you were different…"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Tell me something different, Malfoy. I'm sure your small pea-sized brain can figure a sentence to put together."

Malfoy fingered his wand, before deciding not to silence her. "You could have everything you want, as my wife."

"Really? Then what if I don't want to be some breeding mare, like your mom probably was?" Hermione knew she was walking on a thin line, but she did it anyway.

His eyes flashed dangerously, and he backhanded her. "Silence. You know nothing, Burke. Now you better say yes…"

"Or what?"

---

Tom never went to Hogsmeade. He had torn through the whole castle, interrogated several students, including Prince and the half-giant Hagrid, but they dismissed him.

"Isn't she with you?" Prince sniffed poshly before leaving the common room. Hagrid, on the other hand, was more _reluctant_ to speak with him.

"Whaddya want, Riddle? Haven't ya done enough alreddy?" growled the half-giant, picking up the axe he had been using to chop the wood.

"Have you seen Ana?"

Hagrid's face softened slightly, before looking at Tom and hardening again. "How am I suppos'd to know? Aren't ya with her?"

And then Gabriel Nott had appeared, reminding him about the meeting later in the day.

---

"Any new updates apart from that?" grunted Tom, as he appeared in his robes, in front of his Death Eaters.

Tom noticed Malfoy, but decided not to strike… yet.

And it was then, that the said young man spoke. "We haven't had entertainment in a while, my Lord. I have found several Muggle girls…"

A whoop of joy sounded from the Death Eaters, and Tom silenced him with a wave of his hand. It was typical for Malfoy to bring 'entertainment'. He was so… sadistic.

As the girls were hustled in, Tom couldn't help but notice they all looked similar. _They all looked like Ana._

He hesitated. If he dared to stop the rite, he would lose their respect…

_If you are in control of your own little group, then why are you being pressured? That would just mean that you are some puppet leader. _

He needed to hold himself high. He needed to stop this.

"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" he bellowed, and his men stopped advancing to the unconscious girls. His men looked at him, dumbfounded.

Walking with his wand raised to Malfoy, he hissed, almost in Parseltongue, "I told you to stay away from her. And you disobey me again…"

Malfoy was quivering as he saw his master's eyes turn blood-red again.

Whispering something in Parseltongue, he summoned his strength, ready to strike him down.

"Tom, no!"

Hermione, bruised and battered, had seen his eyes turn the tell-tale signs of crimson. She knew she was bleeding somewhere and something was broken, but it did not matter.

Tom turned to her, with shock in his face, and the red immediately disappeared from his eyes.

"Ana?"

She felt herself weaken with every breath she took. Having declined Malfoy's offer, she was beaten, slashed, but thankfully, Malfoy hadn't raped her.

It was probably some Pureblood thing she didn't understand. She was sure if she was just plain Hermione Granger, he would have done so, seeing the lust on his face.

But her body had taken such a beating; it was only a few notches below several bouts Crucio. He had produced gods-knew what torture tools in that small cave.

"Ana?" the voice was now more desperate, and Tom bound Malfoy before running to her. She felt her knees buckle underneath her, and her vision blur, before she collapsed.

The last conscious feeling was the comfort of arms around her body, shielding her fall.


	18. Why Make It Any Harder?

A/N: I love you all for the quick replies and reviews!

Chapter dedicated to JTSB, who has been one of the greatest guy friend a girl can ask for.

**-jellyacey- **- Nothing bad, I swear.

**Hotkat144 **

**deeps85 - **Personally, I love Draco, which has absolutely nothing to do with Tom Felton.

**blindfaithoperadiva **- Adonis doesn't appear in the future, so he must've died... or :heh:

**Darkness-Lightness **- I don't think we've seen the last of Malfoy though.

**Ms willow gosermer **- I've read some great pieces before, on and and I seriously wonder why some of them haven't contacted publishers.

**nAuGHty NiKkI13**

**luv-icecream-hyper **- It will be explained in this chappie.

**sarahface  
**  
**EyesOfBlue1993 - **I promise you all, I will not desert this story. I like it too much, and it's already beaten the record for my old one.

* * *

**Chapter 18 - Why Make It Any Harder?

* * *

**

He didn't care what they thought, when he grabbed Ana.

His honed Seeker senses had made sure he caught her before she touched the ground. And he had run, as fast as he could, to the Infirmary with her in his arms.

Her pulse was growing weaker.

_NO! It was his fault for not looking thoroughly enough. It was…_

He was so close to the doors of Madame Auclair. She couldn't give up yet…

She had stopped him from killing the bastard who had done it to her.

_Abraxas Malfoy… you shall pay if she is… _He stopped himself from thinking that she would… die.

Bursting through the Infirmary doors, he shouted, his voice hoarse, "MADAME AUCLAIR!"

---

It was already late, and Adonis had thoroughly slapped himself in the head.

Ana was missing.

And he had been a bloody idiot. He had let his hatred for Riddle get in the way, totally ignoring the fact she was missing.

His _best friend_ was missing.

Running down to Hagrid, he noticed the half-giant sitting by the lake, his back turned to him.

"Hagrid! Have you seen Hermione?" he panted, only to notice the choking sobs shaking the half-giant's large frame.

"Bloody Malfoy, got ta' her. I saw her in th' Hospital Wing…" he blubbered, blowing his nose in a large hanky.

Anger surged through him, and he sprinted to the Hospital Wing, only to be greeted with an image of grief.

---

Hermione lay there, unmoving, yet serene, and Tom sat, with a somber expression, in the chair next to her bed. Dumbledore was standing, next to the bed, the twinkle missing from his eyes.

"What did you do to her?" rasped Adonis, eyeing Tom with suspicion. But Dumbledore replied instead of Tom.

"Tom was in fact the one who saved Anaïs. Mr. Malfoy will be expelled tomorrow, I believe," he murmured, before placing a comforting hand on Adonis' shoulder.

_If… If I had been there and forgotten all my blind hatred for Riddle, she would still be awake and unharmed. _

"And do not blame yourself, Mr. Prince."

Dumbledore swept out of the room, leaving Adonis and Tom. Adonis noticed the shattered look in Riddle's eyes, a mix between grief and fury. Sighing to himself, he knew he couldn't hold it against Ana.

"You really like her, don't you?" he whispered, walking up to the bed, trying to gauge Tom's response.

He merely dipped his head, as if his voice had gone completely. _Yes._

Taking a deep breath, Adonis continued, "Well, I think she likes you a lot too."

Perhaps the dim lights in the Infirmary were playing tricks on his eyes. Perhaps Adonis had imagined it. But in fact, he did not. A solitary tear trickled down Riddle's face, as he heard the words.

"If you hurt her in any way, Riddle, I will not hesitate to kill you. And you better keep her from my sister and all those girls." And with that, he left the ward, leaving Tom alone with Ana.

When everyone was out of earshot, Tom Riddle leaned to Hermione's ear and whispered, "I'll protect you."

Madame Auclair had to shoo him out of the Infirmary to make him leave her side, for dinner. But after dinner, he was back, clutching her cold hands.

Late at night, Madame Auclair found him by her side again, asleep, leaning forwards, with his head by her side. She decided not to wake him.

---

Light. Infirmary. She was in the infirmary.

Her eyelids felt so heavy.

And her body felt like weights. Each joint ached badly, and she felt weak.

Someone's hands were holding hers.

A mass was next to her too. An unmoving mass that hadn't been there before.

She tried to turn to face the mass that was blocking a part of her bed, only to have the mass suddenly move.

"Thank Merlin you're awake, Ana."

Her blurry eyesight only told her the speaker had dark hair. "Adonis?"

Things were becoming clearer. "No." the voice said with slight disappointment, "It's Tom."

Hermione felt herself heat up. _Had he been next to her all… _

"I stayed next to you all night. I was sca… worried."

Tom Riddle would never admit that he was scared of anything. "Malfoy has been expelled already."

He felt her hands loosen their grip. He was definitely relieved that she was awake.

"Oh, and this is yours." Tom pulled out the locket – he had repaired the necklace.

She smiled. "Do you want me to help you put it on?"

Nodding, she tipped her head forward, and he delicately did the clasp at the back.

A short '_ahem_' brought their attention to the man standing at the Infirmary door.

Caractus Burke.

---

"Uncle!" Hermione felt she didn't need to see him right now, in her weakened state.

However, Caractus Burke was scanning Tom up and down. "And you are?"

Tom straightened himself. "Tom Riddle, sir."

Hermione felt like it was a 'Meet The Parents' kind of situation, with Tom being her 'boyfriend'… except, it was more like 'Meet the Uncle'.

"I heard that you are a very talented young man… And from what I heard from Albus, you saved my niece." Her uncle was inspecting Tom, as if he was a prospective husband…

_Stop thinking like that, Hermione! Your 'uncle' is just suspicious! _

"You speak too highly of me, sir."

A more firm smile appeared on Caractus' face, and he replied, "Would you mind stepping out for a moment? I need to talk to my niece."

As he left, Caractus turned to Hermione.

"Malfoy has been expelled, am I correct?" Hermione affirmed it. "That boy… Tom Riddle… doesn't seem too bad."

Hermione could help but blush. An uncle who had apparently not seen her for most of her life was now discussing _potential husbands_.

He sat on the bed next to her and patted her on the shoulder. "I don't want to rush you into anything, niece. But you should consider soon, since the Malfoys are not a force to be reckoned with."

Standing up, Caractus Burke turned to her once more. "I'd be a fool to ignore the looks he gives you, and the ones you give him, niece. He does care for you a great deal."

Caractus Burke looked over his shoulder, to see if Tom had entered, before whispering, "Why make it any harder for yourself? He would make a good protector..."

Hermione sat there in quiet contemplation. She had never planned to get to this stage with Tom Riddle. She had never thought she would fall for the young Dark Lord. Yet she had, and it didn't sound too bad.

"Remember to Owl me if you want to talk!" he shouted, before leaving the room, and she saw Tom run in, his eyes worried.

"What did he say?" he asked, anxious.

With a smirk pasted on her face, she murmured, "Nothing. Oh, and I forgot to say thank you for saving me from Malfoy."

What she did next would forever implant itself in Tom's mind, even when he looked back on it years later. Hermione would have no answer to why she did it at the time, and would say she felt like doing it.

She kissed him, on the lips, and he returned the favour.

---

The whole school was in an uproar by breakfast.

Rumors had spread that yesterday, Malfoy had taken Hermione to someplace, attacked her, but she was saved by Tom Riddle. Some students swore they saw Malfoy leave the school with his suitcase – he had been expelled.

It was also said that Tom Riddle's group had disbanded too.

The girls, on the other hand, were more concerned about their man. Tom Riddle was seen crestfallen at dinner, and didn't even appear at breakfast. Some of the younger years said they saw him at Hermione's bed, holding her hand and waiting for her to wake up.

Eileen Prince didn't doubt a single word of it. That… bitch… had promised her she wouldn't go near Tom Riddle once she got the Head position. And she was now manipulating the position.

She wished Malfoy had gone far enough to kill her. So she couldn't wake up.

Adonis saw the change in demeanor in his sister in the morning.

"Stay away from them, sis," he warned; inspecting her face, "You don't want to cross Riddle."

Eileen, on the other hand, glared accusingly at her brother. "YOU KNEW, AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!" she screamed, like a banshee, her fork almost bending in her grip.

"You're betrothed to someone already! There is _absolutely nothing_ you can do with Riddle now!" spat Adonis back, losing all the pity he had for his sister and her engagement. She was turning nasty.

Slamming down her fork forcefully, and catching the attention of the Slytherins, she growled menacingly, "From today on, you are no brother of mine."

Adonis snorted. "Don't forget, you're not the heir. I lost my sister a long time ago too."

And with that, he elegantly stood up, and left the table to find Ana.


	19. The One That Got Away

A/N: It's short, I know. I had a performance last night, and we sucked big time, got home late. Tired as hell too.

Special thanks to **JennBenn3148 **for pointing out the error in the previous chapter. Adonis is meant to refer to Hermione as 'Ana' still, since the cat is not _yet _out of the bag.

**AAMRNluver16 **- Bingo. It's explained in this chappie. 

**-jellyacey- **- It will be a while before Adonis dies. It won't be anytime soon.

**deeps85 **- Now for a teeny bit more fluffiness! (i seriously suck at writing that)

**blindfaithoperadiva **- I remember once being in denial that I was a hopeless romantic. But from my writing, you can pretty much guess that I am too.

**Princess And The Pea **- I do NOT know how to write kisses properly. That was just a fiddle of an attempt.

**Darkness-Lightness**

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**gryffindorhottie **- I didn't know what to write for a summary at the time, so I decided on that. I know it's not much to go on..

**Stephanie **- I'll see where I can fit in Nagini. But I'm sure you'll all see her again.

**Hotkat144**

**JennBenn3148 **- Thanks for the constructive criticism. It helps a lot.

**Monnbeam**

* * *

**Chapter 19 - The One That Got Away**

* * *

Walking stiffly and proudly, like any Prince should, Adonis arrived at the Hospital Wing, hoping he could speak to Ana about his 'sister'.

His heart missed a beat as he saw Ana kiss him.

It was a Saturday – and they were lucky they didn't have classes. But Adonis couldn't help but feel dejected as he left, not wanting to disturb their newfound peace.

Anyway, he had a letter to write to his parents, concerning Eileen.

---

_Eileen, _

_It has come to our attention of your reluctance to wed young Mister Crabbe and the fact that you are meddling with an insignificant boy. _

_We have decided to shorten the deadline. You **will** get married during the Christmas holidays, or we will cut you from your inheritance completely. _

_We have constantly stressed that as the last female Pureblood of the Princes, you must marry a man with high or of equal standing. Do not disappoint us further. _

_Father & Mother _

---

Angrily, Eileen crumpled up the letter and attempted to incinerate it with an _Incendio_. But as she had predicted, her parents had used spell-proof paper.

_Bastards. _

It had been four bloody days since her perfect world had turned upside down. Before then, she had had Tom Riddle in her grasp, and there was no mention of her 'engagement' with Richard Crabbe. And that bitch of a Burke and her own brother had destroyed it.

She now had less than a month left to prepare to marry the fat, dull classmate of hers. Knowing him, she knew she would never be happy with a stupid husband. There were no such things as divorces or annulments – it was truly a 'till death do you part' marriage.

She needed to escape. Her only brother had ratted her out – her parents didn't love her. If she escaped, her so-called friends wouldn't associate with a Pureblood fallen from grace. But it didn't matter.

_But where would you go? _

"Somewhere where witches and wizards would rarely go," she spoke aloud, to herself.

And it came to her. The Muggle world. The place where 'respectable young Pureblood ladies' never ventured.

Due to Grindelwald (who had stirred something up in that world, foolishly called 'World War Two'), she could disappear easily in the crossfire.

She could convert what she had saved into Muggle money, and disappear after getting off the train. There was nothing left in the Wizarding World for her.

But first, she needed to dish out her revenge to those who had ruined her life before she left.

---

Tom had made up to Hermione, and finally took her out to Hogsmeade, without the fear of attack from anyone.

Sighing, Hermione remembered each and every shop she had known, when she had visited with Harry and Ron.

_Now is not the time to think like that. _

Seeing her shiver slightly, Tom graciously asked, "Do you want to grab a drink from Rosmerta's?"

Hermione nodded, hoping to take her mind off her boys. Everything with Tom had gone on so well, and she didn't want to spoil it.

As they wove around Hogsmeade, something caught her eye. A matching set of leather-bound diaries that just begged to be bought.

"Hey, why don't you go up ahead first? I'll meet you in there," she whispered, smiling happily.

Tom seemed reluctant. "Are you sure?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm not made of glass, Tom. It's only a block down, and I can make it down there." She made shooing motions, and he left, his head turning to look at her every few steps.

As soon as he disappeared around the corner, Hermione zipped into the store, and grabbed the books.

"You like them?" the elderly man chuckled, eyeing the books with pride, "You write in one, and the person can read it in the other book. You can choose whether or not to let the other person read though."

It would be a perfect gift, she thought, paying for the two, and testing them. Her words came out exactly, and then disappeared after she read them in the other book. Tucking them in her satchel, she exited the shop contentedly.

---

Naturally, Tom had been worried. And so he had kept an eye on Ana, making sure she wouldn't get stolen from the streets of Hogsmeade.

_One can never be too careful in times like these… with Grindelwald. _

He let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding, as he watched her enter a shop, and grab books from the shelves, and pay for it. She had picked two books from the shelf – unlabelled, so it didn't seem like a textbook or reading material.

And it struck him. A Christmas gift? Perhaps for him?

He felt a sense of euphoria – no one had ever bothered to buy him a Christmas present from the bottom of their hearts; they were all bribes of some sort.

_Don't get your hopes up, lover-boy, _sniggered his inner child.

As she was about to exit, he ran to Hog's Head, taking a table and quickly ordered a drink before she arrived. He watched her enter, with a pretty flush in her face from the cold, and realized something.

He hadn't even considered getting her a Christmas gift.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

He needed to buy one sometime when she wasn't around.

She found him, sat down, and ordered a hot chocolate. Despite knowing the answer, he innocently asked her, "What did you get?"

Distractedly, Hermione replied, "Not much. Christmas is coming, and my uncle just decided I should stay at Hogwarts, since Grindelwald is still rampant."

Tom could have sworn his heart thump extra hard as he heard the words. Every Christmas, he was always alone at Hogwarts, and finally, someone he liked, no, _liked a great deal_, was staying too.

He was unaware that he had remained silent, and Hermione gave him a questioning look.

Snapping out his reverie, he picked up some words. "Uh, well I stay every year. It gets kind of lonely after a while." She gave him a reassuring smile, and he felt his insides warm – even warmer than the coffee that trickled down his throat.

If anyone told him he would have fallen for a rebellious Burke last year, he would have sent them to St. Mungos.

---

Smiling evilly, Eileen stirred the potion, dropped in some more ingredients, and watched it coalesce into a sickly purple.

No one ever acknowledged her skill at Potions. She was just as good as Adonis, yet she was unknown, even to Slughorn.

She had lamented why she had not been invited Slughorn's Club for those who would become great in the future. He hadn't been wrong, at least from many people's point of view, but Eileen was determined to be his first error.

The one that got away and became great.

Turning the flame down, she poured the contents of her cauldron into a vial. There was only a little more left to do, and her revenge would be complete.


	20. Make Her Feel Like The One

A/N: Gah. I've been writing so much recently, I'm behind work. poo.

A short break from the evil Eileen.

**deeps85 **- yeah. I wanted to explain some of the stuff that wasn't explained in the books.

**Princess And The Pea**

**mcdreamy1992 **- Well, people who think that way are wrong. I'm sure everyone has some human qualities and vices.

**Darkness-Lightness **

**Ms willow gosermer**

**Hotkat144**

**miss bookworm malfoy  
**  
**blindfaithoperadiva **- Hmm. I haven't decided how Adonis will die yet. The fate of the Princes is stewing in my brain right now.

**-jellyacey-**

**CherryGrlZuli **- Yeah I got that warm fuzzy feeling when I wrote that. More fuzzy moments to come!

**luv-icecream-hyper **

**JennBenn3148 **- I think I'm being too predictable right now.

**Selene98 **- bwahaha. I love this pairing too.

* * *

**Chapter 20 - Make Her Feel Like The One

* * *

**

Breathing a sigh of relief, Tom had managed to avoid Ana.

Not that he didn't want to be around her – he just needed some time off to buy her a Christmas present. She had already gotten him his, and he still hadn't gotten her anything.

Sighing, he looked somberly at his wallet. Being an orphan, he had little money. All that he carried on him was a small portion of his savings, which barely amounted to four hundred galleons, and miserly spent. He had never bought anything for anyone else, nor did he spend excessively on himself.

And now, he was spending it on a girl. Strangely enough, the cold logic in him did not berate his decision.

There wasn't much left in there. Jangling it gloomily, he counted only just twenty galleons, a meager amount of sickles and more knuts. It was to last him till the end of the year.

_It is worth it. She is worth it. _

He passed by jewelry shops with ornate necklaces out for sale – he wasn't going to buy one. Ana already had the Slytherin locket, which was priceless enough. He thought about buying her a book, but it would seem to clash with the present she bought him; it would just be… awkward. Even though he had never bought gifts, he knew it didn't feel right.

As time ticked by, he realized there was nothing in Hogsmeade he could get her. _Perhaps there was something in Diagon Alley?_

He hoped the teachers wouldn't catch him as he Apparated from the spot.

---

He appeared in Diagon Alley quickly, in casual clothes, not catching odd glances from older witches and wizards. Perhaps he looked old enough to pass off as 'graduated'.

Looking worriedly at his watch, he knew he didn't have time. Scouring Diagon Alley quickly, he dodged crowds, and sprinted around, to cut down on time lost.

He hadn't counted on meeting someone he knew.

"Aren't you Tom Riddle?"

The moment Tom heard it, he immediately regretted the thought of Apparating to Diagon Alley. He was going to be expelled…

Turning around, he decided to face the light, hoping Ana would still stick with a dropout after she graduated.

The man who spoke looked at him, puzzled. "Aren't you supposed to be in school?" he whispered, deciding to let Tom save face.

Tom heaved a sigh of relief. It was someone he knew, and he didn't think he would turn him in if he knew Tom's reasons in Diagon Alley.

---

"You want to get something for Ana?" murmured the man, surprised, "And there was nothing in Hogsmeade?"

Tom had finally finished his tale, and was nervously looking at his watch. He didn't have much time left. "Yes, Mister Burke."

The older man gave Tom a small smile. "Well follow me. I got something in the back."

Following him to the storage area, he watched as Caractus rummaged around the boxes, bent on finding something. Finally, the man pulled out a wooden box and smiled lovingly, muttering, "This is the one…"

Tom walked forward, and stared at the display window on the box. Inside, were five, perfect, onyx-black roses in stasis. It was an impossible thing to grow pure black roses, and yet, in front of him, were pitch-dark roses.

Caractus broke him from his thought. "I managed to find some many years ago." He paused, fingering the grooves on the box absentmindedly, yet sadly, "Eventually, I had no use for them. You can take them. My niece loves roses."

Still flabbergasted, Tom didn't want to be in Caractus Burke's debt for taking the roses. "How… much?"

With the sad look on his face, Caractus shook his head. "I know you are an orphan, young Mister Riddle. You do not need to pay for them."

Inside, Tom's mind was whirring. Caractus Burke was like his niece – he gave, not because he had some ulterior motive, but out of his heart. And it warmed him, like it did with Ana. He made up his mind.

"I know. I'll work this off at your store once I graduate. I need to pay you back somehow, Mister Burke." He didn't want to owe anyone anything.

Caractus felt the boy was kind-hearted, yet stubborn. By the set in Tom's jaw, he knew he would not win this one. "Fine. I will owl this to you later then."

He further examined the boy in front of him, and asked, "She is that special to you? I have heard that you never dated before..."

Tom nodded, unsure of why he even answered.

"Then make her feel like the one."

Tom nodded again, and they exited the room, only to find a hooded figure in the main shop.

"How nice to see you, Caractus," it jeered, and turned to Tom, "And young Tom Riddle too. What a coincidence. I've heard a lot about you, boy."

---

"I wonder where Tom is," Hermione spoke aloud, in the Head's Room, with Nagini coiled on her lap. "Accio Marauder's Map."

The parchment flew to her, and she whispered, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Scanning the floors of Hogwarts, and the grounds, she couldn't find the dot labeled 'Tom Riddle'. If he was at Hogsmeade, he would have been back.

_I sense trouble, my Mistress, _hissed Nagini, suddenly alert.

"What? How?" Hermione was worried now.

_I am bound not only to you and your uncle, but also to Tom Riddle. Your uncle and him are in danger... together. _

A knock sounded, and Hermione answered it, hoping it to be Tom. When the portrait swung open, it revealed a distressed Minerva McGonagall.

"Have you seen Tom Riddle?" she asked, frustrated, "I can't find him anywhere."

Hermione shook her head. "He's not on school grounds."

The young McGonagall looked like she was going to burst into tears. "It's my first few weeks of internship, Dumbledore's not here, and the Head Boy's missing! I'm so dead!"

Instinctively, Hermione hugged the woman, and patted her back comfortingly. "I'll go with you to find him. I think I might know where he might be."

"Where?"

"At my uncle's."

---

Caractus' face turned ugly. "Let the boy go, Thompson. He has nothing to do with this."

The figure twirled his wand carelessly. "But my Lord has been interested in this boy in a while. And from what we've heard, your niece would do well to join our ranks."

Tom knew who they were talking about. _Grindelwald. _

"You stay away from my niece," growled Caractus, still bound. Tom swore, if there hadn't been bonds in place, he would have attacked the man named Thompson.

"Tut tut. And to think our Master thought so highly of you… _Crucio!_"

Helplessly, Tom watched the older man fall to the ground, screaming in pain. The same man who had just helped him before.

---

"Why are we in Knockturn Alley?" questioned McGonagall worriedly, "Why would Tom Riddle be here?"

Hermione sighed, as she tried to find her way to Borgin & Burke's. "My uncle works here, and…" She caught the shop sign, and saw the windows were covered with thick, opaque curtains.

Whipping out her wand, she stopped McGonagall from entering through the front door. "Someone is inside," she whispered, searching for a back entrance. There was one, and she broke the wards slowly.

She was relieved she had Burke blood. Or else the shop's alarm would have sounded when she broke the wards.

Pushing the door open, she heard her uncle's screaming. McGonagall stifled a sob as she heard the screaming, but Hermione stopped her. "I will go. Stay here and back me up." She directed McGonagall to hide among the boxes, and Disillusioned her.

With all the training that Moody had taught her, she stealthily found a point to attack, like a sniper. The dark man had his wand on her uncle, and was too focused on the room itself. She needed distractions.

Minerva McGonagall watched in surprise at the aptness of Ana as she watched her transfigure bits and bobs in the store room into live rodents, which scuttled into the main shop.

That broke Thompson's concentration, and ended the Crucio. "What the?"

Mice and other rodents poured out of every crevice in the room, into the main shop, towards Thompson. Tom was shocked, as he watched the first mouse latch onto the dark man. "Gerroff me!"

Even with burning spells, hexes, and curses, the mice did not go away. They continued up his body, onto his face, blocking his view.

Tom felt his bonds disappear, and ran forward to Caractus, who was weak, but still breathing. And the voice he least expected to hear.

"Expelliarmus!" shouted Hermione, and the rodent-covered Thompson flew into the wall, his wand flying into her hand. Murmuring a spell, the mice dissipated, and a visibly confused Thompson lay there, dazed.

"Stupefy!" He became still. "You can come in now, Minerva!"

Tom was still stunned. The person he least expected to see had saved him and had bought Minerva McGonagall along.

The said woman entered, with a shocked look on her face. "That… was… great… Ana. I should contact Dumbledore…"

Hermione nodded, and McGonagall exited, with a somber look on her face. Once she was out the door, Hermione rushed forward, and engulfed Tom in a hug.

"Why are you here? It's dangerous!" she murmured, as they pulled apart, "I was…"

"I was getting you a present." Tom had cut her off. "And I met your uncle along the way."

"You could have been…" Hermione felt vulnerable, displaying her emotions like that, and knew Tom could see it.

"I won't go anywhere without you, okay?" He pulled her in for a hug again, but Hermione felt herself resisting.

"Don't say that."

Tom felt himself tense up. _Was she breaking up with him? _

Hermione watched in fear, as she watched him emotions flicker back to indifference and crimson tint his eyes. "No! I didn't mean it that way!"

The cold façade had not taken over fully, but Tom couldn't help himself but snap, "Then what is supposed to mean?"

Mentally suppressing a cry, Hermione whispered, "I can't stick around you like some love-sick puppy dog." She gave him a weak smile, "I don't mind you going away by yourself for a while… you could have just told me."

The moment passed, and he had not uttered a syllable. _Had she failed her mission on something so trivial? _

Turning to leave, she levitated the stupefied Thompson, and opened the shop door, only to find a hand on hers, on the doorknob.

She looked up, to find Tom, the black abysses showing no traces of red, but brimming with emotion as he pulled her into a kiss. The first kiss he initiated.

They didn't seem to notice Caractus, who was finally conscious, and watching the couple happily from the floor.


	21. Do You Think You're Better Off Alone?

A/N: Chapter title taken from the song from Alice Deejay, 'Better Off Alone'. I just found a CD filled with all my fav old clubbing songs.

Thanks to deeps85 to point out the error. I write as quick as possible most of the time and hardly check, since I have to finish other work.

**Hotkat144**

**deeps85 **

blindfaithoperadiva

Ms willow gosermer

silverwisps - woah. I think that was the longest review I've ever had. And yes, I agree, I hate fics which show Hermione as some flake who is practically Mary Sue, apart from spates of idiocy.

mcdreamy1992

snackadils - yup. That's what it means.

luv-icecream-hyper - bwahaha. thank you. I feel special :)

Princess And The Pea

Darkness-Lightness

Selene98

Dracos-gurl123

* * *

**Chapter 21 - Do You Think You're Better Off Alone **

* * *

Truth be told, Hermione was scared witless after the incident. 

She wasn't afraid of Grindelwald's supporter, no. She was afraid of the words Tom had said.

_I won't go anywhere without you, okay?_

It was when they came back, it finally struck her. She had blindly forgotten, due to her crush on Tom, that she was a timetraveller.

A Timetraveller who had no idea when she could or would leave this time.

There were no books on timetravel that Hermione could find. As many had warned before her, "To meddle with time would be a dangerous thing."

She had finally found herself, at Dumbledore's door, knocking.

"Come in," came his voice, and she steeled her nerves as she entered.

The Transfiguration Professor looked at her wisely, the look in his eye asking her to speak her mind.

"It's about Time," she spoke, as vaguely as possible.

Dumbledore nodded, and he set up wards around his Office, ready to give her anything he knew on the subject.

---

Tom had noticed the worried look on Ana's face. She had naturally forgiven him after he snapped at her – it was a defensive mechanism, but she seemed even more worried before.

He watched her enter Dumbledore's office, and close the door. She seemed to meet up with the old codger a lot, even as a Slytherin.

But his ears pricked yet again, as he heard a snatch from a conversation he wasn't supposed to hear.

"It's about time," Ana's voice had said, and the rest of the conversation faded away due to wards.

Tom swore Dumbledore either could see through walls and doors, or he just had dumb luck, being a Gryffindor. It was most likely the latter, anyway.

---

"You're worried about going back in time, right?" asked Dumbledore sagely, looking at Hermione, "You do not need to worry."

Her eyes snapped to his. "What?" she exclaimed, shocked.

"You can choose whenever to go back. The future is not waiting for you – instead, it is forming as we speak. You could, if you wished to, stay in this timeline for the rest of your life. But…" He raised his hand to Hermione, stopping her interjection, "I will give you the choice. My friend Nicolas Flamel is embedding the spell into a small object that you can carry around you, just in case."

On the inside, Hermione was conflicted. If she stayed in the present, she would not see Harry or Ron till she was an old woman. Yet if she left, Tom would probably…

Her head felt like exploding at the migraine headache.

"Do not think too hard on it. Go up to Madame Auclair's to get something for your headache," he murmured, as she exited.

---

After one mildly-bitter potion, her head was feeling better.

She _would_ be making Harry's life better if she stayed. And she would still see him again, anyway, as well as Ron.

Sighing, she pushed around the food on her plate. "Are you alright?" whispered Tom, seeing the worried face on her still. She murmured affirmative, and his arm went over her shoulder and he gave her a peck.

Perhaps she would be staying after all.

---

Adonis felt even more alone as he watched the happy couple from his seat.

He didn't know why, but even when Ana tried to talk to him, he shied away, unwilling to utter a word.

_It's your fault for not telling her what you felt earlier. Get over it._

Having spent most of his time moping, knowing that he did not want to break them up, he knew he could make it up to her for his absence. It was Christmas soon, and even if he was going home over the holiday, he could get her something more than just a typical box of Chocolate Frogs.

As he watched them stand up and leave, he tapped Ana on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

---

Before, the gap between them seemed to be ever-widening. But as Adonis spoke the words, she felt it closing again, as if they were the close best friends they were.

"Yes, Adonis?" She had told Tom to meet with her later, but his reaction was unreadable.

"I'm sorry for ignoring you. I had some things to think about…"

"Ah. It's nice having you back." She pulled him into a bear hug, and he complied, missing the hugs they had before.

As they pulled back, he whispered conspiratorially, "If he hurts you, tell me. I'll give him…"

She slapped him happily on the back. "Okay, okay. I'll come to you if he does. But you're going to have to deal with his dead mangled body first," she joked. Adonis could never fight Tom and win. Perhaps not at the moment, anyway.

"Oh, and my sister… be careful of her. She's been oddly quiet lately."

Hermione nodded. "I know. Anyway, I'll see you later in class, alright?" She gave him one last hug before disappearing to find Tom.

Adonis wasn't sure if the knife in his gut had been twisted in further or the wound had started to heal, as he watched her leave.

---

Christmas was coming soon, and Eileen was finally back on track. It had taken a long time to create her unique potion, with its own unique effects. She had tested the previous prototypes on mice, and watched as each one succumbed to the aftereffects.

The fruits of her labour had come to this. A vial of dastardly green liquid, with flecks of silver and black, in the ring she had on her finger.

As she swept through the halls, she hoped she could think of a suitable sob story to get back closer to Burke.

_Her horrible marriage of course. _

She could use that to her advantage.

---

Hermione picked up one diary volume, and cast the spell in her mind. On the first page, neat black, it printed, "Property of Tom Riddle."

It had taken her a while to think of a quote to place in the diary permanently. After much searching and thinking, she had settled on one.

Picking up a quill and charming the ink to become permanent, she wrote it down herself.

Do you think you're better off alone?

_Somewhere there is someone that dreams of your smile,_

_And finds in your presence that life is worthwhile,_

_So when you are lonely remember it's true,_

_Someone somewhere is thinking of you._

He had been lonely for too long – and if she somehow failed her mission, Hermione hoped it would curb it.

Delicately, she wrapped it in forest green, and attached the label, "To: Tom Riddle, From: Ana"

She could no longer fool herself. Everything she did pointed to the inevitable thought – she was falling for him, hard and fast. She had already given Adonis his own present, and they had spent a while together, like they used to, messing in the snow. But she had saved Tom's for the last, and it appeared he had too.

Sitting down at her seat, she hid his present in her cloak, and took a sip of pumpkin juice. She was always early for lunch, and surprisingly, Eileen was there too.

"Look, I'm sorry about everything before," Eileen glumly muttered, "You deserve Tom anyway… You two are _perfect_."

Hermione was unsure. It was too… coincidental?

"I know it seems so abrupt, but my parents," her voice dropped down, "They are forcing me to marry Crabbe in Christmas."

That broke through to Hermione's stubborn, righteous Gryffindor side. "What? That's _evil_! You can't be stuck forever to some stupid bloke like him!"

Eileen gave Hermione an uneasy smile. "Well, either I marry him or I get disowned…" Tears started forming, on the brink of spilling.

Throwing caution to the wind, Hermione couldn't help but hug the girl and try to comfort her.

---

Tom had entered the Hall, but spotted Ana hugging Eileen and stopped in his tracks. He hid, and peered into the empty hall, to see Eileen fiddle with her ring. Liquid from the ring poured into Ana's goblet.

And then Ana turned to take a sip at her drink…

--------------------

A/N afterwards: Yeah, I know I'm evil.


	22. Be My Girl

A/N:bwaahahaha. beat my old record of reviews! Thank you all so much!

EDIT: WHY IS THE BOLD BUTTON NOT WORKING:goes on rampage and attacks button:

mcdreamy1992

Ms willow gosermer - Don't worry. Hermione won't be leaving us so soon.

Visionofthenight

Lightmoon-angel

luv-icecream-hyper

Darkness-Lightness - I love leaving cliffies. muah.

Selene98 - It won't be that bad... at least I don't think so.

blindfaithoperadiva - Cruel:blinks innocently: What's cruel?

amrawo

DracosPhoenix16

deeps85 - yup. Italics in speech are stresses. Italics outside of speech are either thoughts or something written down.

CherryGrlZuli

Sierra-A.W - well, I don't think it took that long. I promise I won't take ages to write, unless I'm off somewhere on holiday (unlikely, since we're doing public exams this year) or I'm too busy doing exams.

Hotkat144

Princess And The Pea - A mild cliffie at the end of this chappie. But I'm sure you'll know the answer.

JennBenn3148 - I thought I was really being obvious with the Tom/Hermione thing. Adonis was just... a distraction.

Hermione's BOY

113crc

GoGothGirl

* * *

**Chapter 22 - Be My Girl  
****

* * *

**

Her lips met the goblet.

Tom's mind screamed at him to take away the cup. He fumbled, and found his wand.

Eileen was watching Hermione with eager eyes.

Searching his mind for a spell, he finally thought of one and flung it at the goblet.

Eileen didn't seem to notice Tom. Neither did Hermione.

Almost, in slow motion, a drop of pumpkin juice rolled into her mouth, before the whole goblet was blasted away. In Tom's eyes, it seemed so slow, and the goblet flew past her, smacking Eileen forcefully in the forehead.

But he was too late.

Hermione fell off her chair; her eyes squeezed shut, her body contorting in pain. Jolts of what seemed like epilepsy attacked her, and she spasmed on the ground, in soundless screams.

Eileen had been knocked unconscious by the goblet and was sprawled unceremoniously on the ground.

Hermione was finally still, and Tom ran forward, checking her pulse. She was still breathing, thankfully, and her pulse was still there, but everything seemed faint.

Snarling, he pointed his wand at the Prince. But a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"We will punish her severely for this," spoke the Transfiguration Professor – Tom had never seen Dumbledore as angry as this; he was just as angry when Malfoy…

"Take her to Madame Auclair. I don't think she drank too much of that." Dumbledore pointed his wand at the spill and it somehow absorbed and filled a vial that had appeared in his hand. "We need that as evidence, to see if she will go to Azkaban for it or not."

Slightly angry at Dumbledore for depriving him of his prey, but worrying about Ana more, he lifted her still body, bridal style, to the Infirmary.

---

It had been three days.

Three long days since Ana had ingested the poison.

Professor Slughorn was supposed to be heading a team to find the antidote. Tom knew his ways well; he would cry crocodile tears about his student, but not work hard to save her.

And the stupid female Prince was not helping either. She had refused at first to hand over her recipe, but only under duress did she reluctantly hand it over. Tom remembered that it was the same day she had been poisoned.

"Do you have an antidote for this, Ms Prince?" asked the Auror, an old man with a ridiculously long name.

"Why would I have needed an antidote?" she huffed, in her uppity manner.

The male Prince had shared Tom's view on his sister, and it was not long before she was bombarded with Howlers. He had denounced her, cutting her from his family.

Tom had seen her; pathetically groveling at him for his attention. He did give it to her, nonetheless.

"If anything happens to her, they'll put _me_ in Azkaban for what I'll do to you,(1)" he had growled, sending Eileen Prince scrambling away.

Currently he had taken the matter in his own hands. Grudgingly, he had asked Prince to help – they were both good at Potions, and they had the same aims.

To save Ana.

Madame Auclair had announced, with tears, that Ana would continue to fade, until she permanently remained in a coma, relying on life support.

Early on, Caractus Burke had entered, gripping her hand, his chest heaving up and down. Perhaps he had forgotten how to cry. By the time he exited, there was nothing on his face that showed loss. Except for his eyes.

"Dammit!" shouted Tom as he threw another vial in the wall, "This doesn't work either!"

Wearily, Adonis handed him the last vial. "This is the last one we made," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. He hadn't slept for three days straight, neither did Tom, but he seemed more energetic.

Tom poured out a little from the batch and fed it to the unmoving rat. Tom was prepared to throw the current vial too, but the rat's body started quivering, as if it was being jumpstarted.

His eyes widened. This was him hallucinating.

"Bite me," he mumbled, not believing his eyes.

Adonis was already nodding off to sleep. "I don't swing that way, Riddle. Nor do I want to bite you."

"No, you bloody arse. I think it worked."

"You're lying."

"Look at the rat then, Prince."

Sighing tiredly, Adonis gave a glimpse at the rat, who, moments ago, was as still as a tombstone. It was scampering around within the magical barrier Tom had created.

Adonis' own eyes widened. "We need to get it to her now."

Tom felt like handing him the award for being "Mr. Obvious", but decided not to. He was right anyway, and they needed her back.

---

Hermione almost choked when the antidote was finally poured down her throat. It had a horrible taste that stuck in her mouth.

She realized she was in the Infirmary, yet again, but surrounded not only by Tom, but also Dumbledore, Adonis, and her uncle.

_Had they joined forces?_

From the looks on Adonis and Tom's faces, it seemed so.

"Hi," she weakly croaked, trying hard to raise her hand.

"Out!" hustled Madame Auclair's voice, "She needs to rest!"

"But…" spluttered Adonis, but Dumbledore raised his hand. "Let Madame Auclair do her job." Turning to Hermione, he spoke, "We will see you later."

Reluctantly, the two young men, along with the older two, left. The older two parted ways at the door of the Infirmary, but the younger ones stayed.

"Riddle," murmured Adonis, looking Tom in the eye, "Truce?" He extended his hand, an olive branch bridging over past hate.

Tom could see no anger in his eyes, nor could he find any lies in his mind. Now when he looked at it, Prince wasn't so bad. "Truce," he muttered, shaking the hand before leaving Adonis standing alone in the hall.

---

Eileen Prince was put under constant surveillance by the Hogwarts teachers and the Aurors for the rest of the year until Christmas. It was obvious her parents had paid galleons to keep her out of Azkaban, since her poison was tested to be A Grade lethal if taken.

Adonis had heard from his parents that they were going to withdraw her from school after Christmas, for her marriage to Crabbe. They had also acknowledged her meddling, and cut her from the majority from their will.

"Morning sunshine," laughed Hermione as she watched Tom come in. It had been almost forever since she had woken, but she was still in bed in the Infirmary. Christmas Day had come, but she was still in there.

Tom gave her a genuine smile. Behind his back was her present – part was Caractus Burke's and a special ring he had found among his possessions.

"Merry Christmas, Ana," he murmured, and handed her the roses, which he had charmed to be never-wilting. She squealed with delight, and gave him a kiss, almost knocking him out.

"How did you get _live_, black roses? Isn't it impossible…" she started ranting, and Tom decided not to stop her. His body seemed to heat up, as he watched her, babble on, adorably. Hermione noticed the silence and blushed under his smile. "I got something for you too."

She rummaged for something under her pillow and produced a neatly wrapped package, and Tom knew what was inside. "Can I open it now?" he asked, deciding to give her the joy of giving him a present. She nodded, and he felt overjoyed as he delicately removed the Slytherin green wrapping.

He had never received a true present. All of the ones were just bribes of some sort.

Sliding out the book, he gazed at the delicate leather, and saw his name.

_Property of Tom Riddle._

It warmed him to the heart, and he didn't notice Hermione watching him, joy dancing in her eyes. She had changed Tom Riddle.

"I got something else for you too," he murmured, putting the diary and the wrapping delicately into his bag. Pulling out the ring Hermione remembered seeing on Dumbledore's withered old hand, he asked, nervously,

"Will you be my girl?"

* * *

(1) Taken shamelessly from "A Higher Law" by Nynaeve80 


	23. Stand By Me?

A/N: Speeding up things a little bit and putting on the pressure :smirks:

GoGothGirl

mcdreamy1992 - big tip here. If you want to write good, find good cliffies which aren't too cliche, and use good enough description.

Lightmoon-angel

Hotkat144

anglbby989 - A Higher Law is one of the best stories I've read. I keep on rereading it from time to time. --- that proves how good it is.

deeps85 - I have to agree with you on that. I was pretty much smacking myself for writing another hospital thing for Hermione afterwards, but I didn't have time to change it all, so that was all I could do. This chappie has a more hoo-hah Hermione in it.

blindfaithoperadiva -heh. Things will happen. :hinthint:

Princess And The Pea - Sadly, I think that is the last you will see of Eileen. I don't think she's that significant to Tom's life really.

Darkness-Lightness

Ms willow gosermer - Another beaauuutttiiiffulll one at the end of this one. But I'll be nice and put a spoiler. :smirks again:

113crc

CherryGrlZuli

Selene98

amrawo

Kwebbeltje

* * *

**Chapter 23 - Stand By Me?  
**

* * *

Smirking inwardly to herself, she knew she had _definitely_ changed him. 

"You'll stand by me, right?" she asked, still slightly unsure.

He nodded, still nervous.

Her heart beating wildly, she murmured, "Yes," before leaning forward to kiss him, lips to lips, in the short distance between them, and sealed her promise.

On the inside, Tom felt happier than ever before. Moments before, it felt like he had laid his soul bare for her, ready for her to tread on – something too vulnerable for him to usually do. But she had picked it up delicately, and enveloped it in her warmth; her love.

As they pulled apart, he put the ring on her middle finger, the dark jewel on his uncle's ring bringing out her eyes.

Not a word passed between the two – all was communicated in their eyes.

---

Christmas passed with a flurry as the two stayed at Hogwarts, wandering its cold halls empty of students.

Caractus Burke didn't want his niece back home, since Grindelwald was still on the loose. But he kept her informed, and sent her presents.

Nagini, on the other hand, had taken to lying in her mistress' pocket in order to get out of the boring Heads Common Room. It was kind of annoying, since Hermione usually used both her pockets to stuff things, but Nagini resided in one, and she couldn't put anything in that one.

_Pass me to Tom then._

Hermione swore the snakeling who had not grown to her full length yet could read her mind. "Fine, Nagini."

Tom took the snake willing, and kept her in his pocket as they entered Slughorn's Rooms for his exclusive 'Slug Club'.

"God, I hate this…" muttered Hermione, rolling her eyes as they sat down, before Slughorn arrived, "He's such a …"

Adonis was not surprisingly, absent. His sister, now the disgrace of the Prince family, had run off to the Muggle World, after they lost sight of her. Hermione guessed she would soon find Tobias Snape, get knocked up, give birth to Severus, and hate her child. Adonis was still at home, dealing with the administrative details with his parents.

Horace Slughorn entered, his face not as jovial as he usually was, with a nervous, bushy haired First Year student tagging along behind him. He stopped, and boomed, "We have a new Guest, Alastor Moody, the first Mud-Muggleborn to join our Club!" He started clapping, and out of politeness, the rest of the Club clapped, but not Hermione.

She was happy Moody was in her timeframe of course, and wanted to clap, but she did not. Being a Gryffindor at heart still, she had noticed Slughorn's slip, and saw Moody redden further.

Looking around, he found most of the members at the table had derisive smirks on their faces, or looked as if they were going to spout Pureblood prejudice. She decided to let it pass for the moment.

Slughorn continued, "Well, you all, I'm actually pretty surprised at this – I never _expected_ a Muggleborn to join our ranks, especially Alastor here, but he is talented in Defense…"

Hermione could take it no longer as she watched Tom – _her_ Tom Riddle's mouth curl into a sneer as he heard it.

"Excuse me," she hissed, curtly, standing up from her seat, "Why is it such a surprise that a Muggleborn is capable of good magic?"

The various Purebloods looked at her in shock, as well as Slughorn. Even Tom was staring at her, attempting to comply and push her back in her seat. Alastor Moody was still in his little corner, looking at his feet. She had no idea why the man she knew in the future was a nervous little boy in the past.

Slughorn attempted to reply. "Well… They blood is…"

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "So what if they're born from non-magical folk? Notice _us_. Purebloods have continued to inbreed, cousins with cousins, and so on. We are producing _magically-retarded_ children."

Waves of horror and gasps spread through the table. Slughorn's face had turned to abject horror.

"Look at Crabbe and Goyle. Their parents were powerful, and could perform skilful magic. Yet look at their offspring. Neither of them can brew a simple Healing Potion properly!"

Some looked contemplatively. Others scowled. However, Tom was not by her side, but instead, looked embarrassed, and tried to pull her back down to her seat.

"Let go, Tom," she snarled, and he reluctantly let go.

A voice piped up, "Well, you're obviously a Blood Traitor, like your parents, aren't you?"

Hermione could see red. If only they could see the irony of it – she was a Mudblood herself. "Leave my parents out of this," she growled dangerously, and her hand itched for her wand.

Slughorn decided to take action. "Now, now…"

Eyeing him furiously, Hermione continued. "And you, Professor Slughorn," she pointed an accusatory finger at him, "I had respect for you and your knowledge before. Now I see you're just a blabbering Pureblood fool, like the rest of them."

She headed to the door, ignoring Tom's silent pleads for her to apologize. "I quit," she stated firmly, and looked at the younger Moody. He seemed to quiver under her gaze. "I don't think you want to be with these prejudiced pigs, Alastor," she muttered, in softer tones.

Nodding timidly, he followed her out, leaving a silent room behind. Tom stood up, he chair scraping across the cold stone floor.

He turned to everyone, including to Slughorn, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry about my girlfriend," he apologized, and exited the room.

Storming up to Hermione, who was waving off Moody, he felt anger coursing through his veins.

"What do you think you were doing, sticking up for that Mudblood?" he roared, grabbing her hand in a vice-like grip, "You know how much you were embarrassing all of us, including me?"

Hermione's eyes widened for a second before forming slits, emanating her own form of anger. "What's with _your_ prejudice with Muggleborns? You're a halfblood, Tom."

Tom refused to question how she knew of it, and refused to be knocked off by it. "I'm the heir of Salazar Slytherin, that's what! You embarrassed me in front of the most important people in Slyth…"

Wrenching her hand from Tom's grasp, she looked him dead in the eye. "And what kind of reason is that, Tom Marvolo Riddle? Or did you forget that _I _am the heir to Slytherin too?"

He couldn't control his anger, and the feeling of power surged in him. Hermione was not put off by his eyes turning crimson.

"Well, your parents were Blood Traitors."

"Hah. Your father was a loveless bastard. I guess you're a loveless bastard too, if I follow your logic."

She knew she was prodding him on, but felt her trust in him dwindle. Perhaps he had not changed after all. Then she would have failed her mission.

But she wasn't going to suck up to him to get him back.

His eyes grew to a more furious red. "SHUT UP, you stupid _bitch_!" He almost backhanded her, but Hermione was fast enough to catch his hand.

They stood for a moment there, the hand which Tom was about to slap her with was in her grasp. The crimson seemed to subside, as Tom came to realize.

But it was too late.

"Fuck you, Tom Riddle," spat Hermione, letting go of his hand, and Tom's heart stopped when he saw her fingers fiddle with the ring he had placed on her fingers.

_No. Please, no._

The crimson in his eyes had evaporated away.

And the ring was complete free of her finger. She held it testily in her hand. "You're a miserable bastard, Riddle. Stay the hell away from me."

Shoving the palm with the Peverell ring in his chest, almost knocking Tom's breath out, she stamped off, her feet echoing desolately.

With every step she took away from him, he felt his heart shatter into shards. It was his fault – his fault alone, that he had refused to stand by her.

He knew Nagini had heard everything, and she somehow had slithered out of his pocket, probably off to go comfort her mistress.

Thinking back as he slipped the ring in his pocket, he wondered why he hated Mudb-Muggleborns anyway. Ana's words had truth in them – he was half-blood, and never knew his mother, and grew up in a Muggle orphanage. He could have never been indoctrinated with Pureblood belief.

He realized that it was his need to conform in the Slytherin House. He had blindly followed their beliefs, in order to rise to the top.

_Now who's controlling who?_

It was barely ten minutes when he found himself in the Head's Room, his heart pining for her, and hearing her sobs from outside. He wanted to comfort her, but he couldn't find himself to, after all the damage he had done for the day.

---

Teaser/Spoiler to keep you hooked :muahahaha:

Hermione entered the Transfiguration Professor's office, her eyes red from crying for days. She could cry no more.

"Please, sir, I know Mister Flamel isn't done with the charm. But I'm sure you know the spell for me to go home. I'd like to go back, please."


	24. Still In Dark Times

A/N: And a very happy thank you to all my reviewers. 20 review for one chappie. wonderful.

I'll be pretty busy, so don't hunt me down and kill me if I don't manage to update frequently.

GoGothGirl - I felt like I had to add the spoiler just to make things 'better'.

Cissus - Exactly. I like smart readers.

Hotkat144

andijviestampot

Lightmoon-angel

Darkness-Lightness - I'll see if I can fit Nagini in again..

Princess And The Pea

Bella's-Choice

luv-icecream-hyper

deeps85

Selene98

113crc - I love Monty Python too.

pissed off - She will have to, some time in the (near) future...

amrawo

AAMRNluver16

CherryGrlZuli

Kwebbeltje

hurricane sapphire - Yay, another smart reader. She does not go home yet- cause she's NOT PREGNANT!

-jellyacey-

lyn18

* * *

**Chapter 24 - Still In Dark Times  
****

* * *

**

Tom still hadn't plucked the courage to apologize. Yet the urge to wrap her in his arms was great, and he had spent much of his days, following her around during the past week.

Her pretty dark eyes were always carefully concealed with glamour, to hide her tears. His heart felt like it had been pricked by needles each time a tear was shed. Yet she had spared him no gazes.

_It's all your bloody fault she's like this. You and your… bigotry._

He didn't seem to notice how long had passed, as he watched her. Procrastination took hold, and he couldn't pick up Hermione's desperation. She knew he was looking at him, but didn't know whether he was eyeing with anger or not.

Adonis had not yet returned, but his owl had said he would, soon. She needed someone to hug, someone to cry on, and talk to – it had occurred to her how lonely she truly was, without Tom or Adonis.

It seemed like nothing was working, and perhaps she had failed her mission. Tom was mad at her expletive during the Slug Club about Muggleborns, and had already held onto that belief so strongly now.

She found herself at the familiar door again, debating her choices. Hermione entered the Transfiguration Professor's office, her mind made up, her eyes red from crying for days. She could cry no more.

"Please, sir, I know Mister Flamel isn't done with the charm. But I'm sure you know the spell for me to go home. I'd like to go back, please."

Dumbledore looked at one of his greatest students, his sad blue eyes glistening. "Are you sure?"

Despite the firmness of her decision outside the door, she felt herself falter. Hesitant to reply.

---

Tom watched her move swiftly from the Great Hall, and he followed her, a stretch of corridor between them. And he found that she had entered Dumbledore's office.

As he did before, he pressed his ear close, and listened in.

"Please, sir, I know Mister Flamel isn't done with the charm. But I'm sure you know the spell for me to go home. I'd like to go back, please," she murmured.

Tom felt the colour drain from his cheeks as she finished.

_She was leaving. And he would never see her again._

His heart stopped at the thought. To not listen to her rant adorably on a topic, her nervous nibbling of her luscious lips, her chocolate eyes sparkle with delight…

He heard Dumbledore's voice. "Are you sure?"

It was his time to act. _Carpe diem._

He steeled himself as he brought his knuckles to the coarse surface of the door.

---

Hermione snapped out of her thoughts as a solid knock announced a visitor.

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling wildly again, as if he knew something. _Garhh… Annoying old man._

"Come in, Tom," spoke Dumbledore, almost smugly.

Her chocolate eyes widened, as she felt her heart stop at the name.

_He was right outside?_

---

Tom's heart felt exactly the same.

_So the old man can see through doors then…_

He entered, putting on his mask of indifference on, but deep down, in the abysses of his mind, he had an inkling that Dumbledore would not be fooled. And he was correct.

"I'm sure you and Miss Burke here have something to talk about, so I'll leave you two to it," he stated, grandly, and left the two to their own devices. Tom could see the man's quirking lips, and knew he felt smug.

_Dammit. Well at least I can talk to Ana…_

Turning to the girl, he realized she was just as shell-shocked as him. From her expression, he knew she wouldn't say the first words, so he started.

"Ana, I'm sorry."

Her chocolate eyes fell back on him. "Yet you still believe that_Mudbloods_ are trash?" she tried to snap, but it ended up as a hoarse sound.

She looked on the verge of tears and anger, so Tom stepped in. "No, I don't. You were right. They're not inferior, nor are Purebloods superior in any way."

Ana's stance seemed to soften. "Are you sure?"

"Yes." Tom felt he needed to affirm it – to make her feel at ease again. "I swear on my mother's grave."

Tom had never sworn on anything, and swearing on his mother's grave was serious. He had finally found it in the summer holiday – a mere concrete marker, labeling 'Merope'. Discovering his mother's name after a 'visit' with his uncle, he had spent ages finding it.

Hermione ran the things through her head. "I believe you."

Almost surreally, Tom was the one who, in desperation from the lack of contact with her, grabbed her into a bear hug. The moment he came in contact with her skin, he felt warmth spread from thereon to his entire body.

"Promise me you won't leave me again. Please," he whimpered, almost inaudibly. Hermione could feel herself turn boneless at his words.

"I can't promise you that." Tom felt his blood run cold again. "But I will try my best," Hermione whispered, hoping it would reassure him.

She was a _timetraveller_ after all.

---

As winter melted away, and spring arrived, Hermione saw changes take place.

Nagini had grown thicker, and was longer by several inches. She was still adept at terrorizing anything that threatened her in school, and finally, Hermione had let her off into the grounds once in a while for a breather. But she had bonded perfectly well with Tom too. Perhaps it was just the Slytherin heir and snakes thing.

Her relationship with Tom had reached another level, beyond infatuation. It was undeniable now – they were in love. It had just been half a year, but they were tight. After their friendly debate on Pureblood beliefs versus what Hermione believed, Tom had made up his mind, and quit the Slug Club.

She remembered the day that it had happened.

---

_"Tom, my boy, how nice to talk to you!" Slughorn boomed, in the middle of his Potions lesson, after Tom had walked up to his table._

_"I want to quit the Slug Club." His tone wasn't weak at all – Tom was determined._

_Slughorn almost fell off his chair – his rotund body looked as fragile as Humpty Dumpty's, Hermione had mused at the time. But nonetheless, Tom had not waited for a reply, and returned to his seat, next to Hermione._

_The class was silent, before it was announced that the rest of it would be cancelled since Slughorn 'needed to recuperate'._

---

He had told her that he didn't leave it just because of her. She loved him for it anyway.

And Adonis. The boy she had known the first day had changed into a quieter, more solitary student. Maybe it was the pressure that his parents had placed on him after Eileen's disappearance, but he was more distant again. An attitude reminding her of Snape was barely showing, and Hermione couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

But her major mission was Tom. The sole reason why she had come back was for him.

Sighing, she busied herself in removing the food the house elves had prepared from the picnic basket. Her eyes caught onto the Peverell ring, and she smiled inwardly. Tom had remembered her reluctance to promise him that day, and to 'make sure' they stayed together as much as they could, he had proposed to her.

---

_Sitting in the Head's Room on Valentine's, Tom lay on the couch, his head resting in the lap of a sitting Hermione, who was reading._

_"Don't go anywhere," he smirked boyishly, and hurried into his room, before jumping out, with something hidden behind his back. Neither of them really like the commercialized holiday, so they treated it like a holiday._

_But Tom seemed to have something for her. "I know this is a bit early, but…"_

_He dropped on his knees, lifting up a blood-red box, with the Peverell ring inside. "I know I'm poor and couldn't afford another ring, Ana, but will you marry me?"_

_Hermione had dropped her book. Inwardly, she had hoped that he would, in her dreams, but she had never imagined he would, at the moment._

_Tom stayed in that position, feeling like an idiot. He had somehow deluded himself that she would be willing to marry a broke orphan like him. As he was about to stand, he shied his eyes away from hers. _

_He was unprepared for what happened. She drew him up, and gave him an earth-shattering kiss that threatened to blow him eardrums out. He readily complied, almost afraid to let go, and to be left with a dream._

_But it was no dream. As they pulled apart for breath, she nodded, lost for words, and tears running down her happy face. He slipped the ring on her finger, and murmured, "I promise I'll save for a better ring for the wedding."_

_And this time, he savored her lips._

---

From his roosting point, a boy watched sadly as Hermione whistled away, completely unaware of what was to come. They were still in dark times, and to him, they didn't seem to be getting any clearer, nor was light coming soon.

He just hoped she would understand.


	25. Begging You To Don't Go Away

A/N: Sorry guys! went camping for school, was back today and work combined makes a shite week. Chapter title comes from "Blood and Peanut Butter" by BC Camplight.

**REMINDER. THIS STORY IS NOT DH COMPLIANT. ALSO, I DO NOT PARTICULARLY WRITING ANY FORM OF SLASH, BUT I THOUGHT SOME OF IT WAS SLIGHTLY NECESSARY TO BUILD RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO CHARACTERS. **

**GoGothGirl **- GAH. stupid login system somehow got me to the Dictionary when I wanted to post this up. You'll find out later who it was. And yes, in the first chappie, Harry was going through the memories, but he doesn't appear in any of them.

**andijviestampot **- Nagini never saw Hermione before she left for the past. Old Voldie was too protective, and never let her near anyone.

**Ms willow gosermer **

**airuhkuh**- I hope I'm not rushing through too many things too quickly. But I do want this story to end soon, since it might drag out too long, and I hate sequels.

**Lightmoon-angel **

**Hotkat144**

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**CherryGrlZuli**- Who said it was Tom?

**Darkness-Lightness **- You probably won't see Slughorn anymore. Maybe a glimpse, but he won't be an okay-ish big part in a chap like that chap.

**Selene98 **

**kayle**

**JennBenn3148**- Oh the joys of cliffies. They make you unsure of whether everything is going to go happy or whatnot.

**Princess And The Pea **- You guys will found out who the secret guy is. Not in this chappie though.

**blindfaithoperadiva **

**deeps85**

**-jellyacey-**- The evilness will be here soon. veryveryvery soon.

**amrawo **

**AAMRNluver16**- I'm ignoring canon dates, but she will be leaving when she is between 18-19. I don't plan for Hermione to stay in Tom's life for a while, cause that would just.. drag it on.

**mystic-ocean-lily **

* * *

**Chapter 25 - Begging You To Don't Go Away  
**

* * *

Grindelwald's smile stretched grotesquely over his once handsome features. The blonde hair that girls had loved to run their hands through was long gone. 

Not like he would have allowed any mere _girl_ to touch him that way. Somehow, his heart ached as he thought of a distant, sweet memory.

---

_He was young again, sprightly, with handsome chiseled features, in Hogwarts, as a teenager on Graduation Day. Next to him sat his best friend, his confidante, his boyfriend, his tawny-haired lover._

_His younger self's hands were clasped with the boy's, and had a smile on it. It was today, that the irritating girls of Hogwarts found out that the heartthrob of the year was gay._

_His lover leaned over as he saw a signal from the teachers, telling him to leave his seat and go up to the podium. "I love you," he whispered into young Grindelwald's ear, and Grindelwald felt himself tremble as he felt the warm breath._

_As his boyfriend went up to the podium, the boy gave one last look at Grindelwald. Taking the chance, he mouthed back, "I love you too."_

_The magically amplified speakers announced the speaker. "May I now present you our Head Boy, Albus Dumbled…"_

­---

Grindelwald felt pain stab him, as he remembered his old lover's name. He had gone against him, allying himself with what he believed to be 'good'.

---

_"Albus, please."_

_"No, I cannot. Look at yourself, Gell. Wizards are no more dominant over Muggles."_

_"Please don't leave me, Albus."_

_A slightly older Albus Dumbledore's eyes flared. "You killed them out of cold blood, Gell. I ... cannot be near you."  
_

_"You ... don't mean that, do you, Albus?"_

_"I meant every word I said. Farewell, Gell. May our roads never pass again."_

_He left a bloody Grindelwald, sprawled on the ground, in tears._

---

And now he was back, with a vengeance. He had left _him_, with a broken heart, only with his hopes and dreams to maintain him. Over the years, he had built up a wall around his heart, impenetrable. And now he had a way to attack, and to destroy his old lover like he had destroyed him that night.

"My Lord," groveled another minion, shaking him out of his thoughts, "_He _is here to see you."

The evil look appeared in Grindelwald's eye again, and he turned to his newest addition. "It seems you have failed your most recent mission, young one. _CRUCIO!_"

The figure in the shadows collapsed, with his wailing screams echoing desolately through the dark corridors.

"If you fail me one more time, you can forget about my side of the bargain after the attack," Grindelwald snarled at the cowering figure, still shaking from the pain, "I may as well kill her myself if she refuses to join my side of this war."

---

Nervously, Hermione fidgeted with the Slytherin locket, as she entered the Great Hall for her final exams. Dumbledore had charmed it into becoming her 'Portkey' back through time. Tom was in the seat behind her, giving her a reassuring smile as she pulled out her quills, and charmed a glass of water for herself.

The small witch in the front of the hall passed out the papers, and set the timer off. As Hermione worked through it, her mind was not on the test paper. Instead, it was on a certain dark-haired Slytherin who had disappeared from her life.

Adonis was no longer seen in school. Once in a while, perhaps, but he was always tired-looking, as if he had been studying excessively. She had tried to get a word in edgeways, but he always managed to slide past her. It bothered her, since she had originally planned to ask him to be the best man to her and Tom's wedding, but she never got to ask him.

Tom, of course, didn't seem reluctant or enthusiastic about him being his best man. But nonetheless, he had agreed, for the small wedding after exams. He had been eager about _that _of course. And Hermione didn't stop him. Even though they had known each other for barely a year, and were getting married, her heart seemed to tell her it was the right choice. She had already moved into his room – the Head's Rooms were never monitored.

The magical bell dinged, and she put her quill down, and her paper whizzed to the witch. She realized her uncle had been quiet too. After sending the elfin tiara that had belonged to previous Burke wives and wedding rings that automatically engraved messages on themselves for the bride and groom to present to each other, he had disappeared too. She had naturally given Tom one of the rings, but she had yet to think of a message to put on.

She sighed. Perhaps he was hiding. She hoped he was. He was an innocent man, caught up with the wrong people. Nevertheless, she hoped he would be at her wedding in a week's time – after the very last exam.

Erasing her mind of worries for the moment, she exited the hall, and saw her fiancée there, waiting for her.

"You alright, Ana?"

Another apprehensive moment. Tom still didn't know her real name, and Hermione, being Hermione, knew she couldn't, and wouldn't, live a lie for the rest of her life.

She needed to talk to him about it.

"Come with me," she murmured, her face troubled, and her hand linked with Tom's, dragging her to the Room of Requirement.

---

The moment they stepped in the room, Tom knew something was wrong. According to her mood, the room had turned dark, the clothes draped from the ceiling filtering out what light was left.

His heart slowed, as if he was coming to some realization. He had never gotten over his fear of rejection…

Hermione turned to him, and he realized her eyes were in tears again. He wanted to hold her, to comfort her, and he tried to, but she refused him.

_This is bad news. She refused your comfort._

"No, Tom," she sighed, "I'm not rejecting you." He heaved a sigh of relief. "But…" he tensed up again.

_What was wrong with her?_

"I need to tell you something."

_What? That's she's pregnant? Why is she crying? We're getting married, aren't we? So isn't it going to be fine?..._

"My name isn't Ana."

Somehow, it didn't strike him that much. He didn't expect something… like that.

"In fact, I've never been Ana since I came to Hogwarts." Hermione's eyes seared with more tears, as she watched Tom's shock, "And you're probably disgusted with me."

Tom felt his throat run dry, unable to utter a single word. He had fallen in love with a girl, yes, he had fallen in love with her, and she him, but she wasn't Anaïs Burke.

Hermione could bear it no longer. The silence that had fallen in the room was tearing her heart apart, and she could feel herself itching to activate the charm, to escape from the embarrassing situation, back to her time.

"I'll understand if you don't want to marry me, Tom." Her heart fell as she spoke each word into the void between them. There was no reply, and Hermione knew, inside, her heart was cracking, breaking up into irreparable pieces and shards.

Turning to leave, she hoped he would follow. But no steps followed her wake. It was the last straw, and she tore out of the room, the dam of tears breached.

---

It felt all too surreal for Tom. His mind couldn't get over the fact she wasn't Ana.

_If she's not Ana, then who is she?_

He hadn't realized that he had remained silent throughout her desperate rant, and his face showed no emotion. It was when the door slammed, he comprehended that she had left the room, in tears.

_Ah, Tom, you bloody idiot. _His inner child berated him constantly, as he sprinted out of the Room of Requirement. In the distance, he could see her slouching figure, obviously crying, running further and further away.

Picking up speed, he followed her, and felt him become closer and closer to her. He could smell her; the fresh scent of rain over the meadow he had visited when he was still in the orphanage. He couldn't let her go, no matter her name.

His arms wrapped around her, hugging her from behind. Hermione stopped, shocked for words.

"I don't care what your real name is. I love you, Ana." Hermione felt herself melt in his touch.

Turning around, still in his hold, she gave him a kiss. "I love you too, Tom."

He finally let go of her, afraid she would disappear again, but she stood there, gazing at him.

"What is your real name then?" he asked, obviously hesitant, but Hermione decided that he deserved the truth, no matter what.

"Hermione. I'll be taking your last name, Tom, so it doesn't matter. But do not call me that."

_A girl, finally taking your name. Hermione Riddle. Ana Riddle. Both sound just as good._

"But then if you're not a Burke, then who are you?"

Hermione was even more averse to answering this. So she decided to become ambiguous.

"I am a Burke by blood (thanks to that potion), but I am not really Caractus' niece. I love Caractus like an uncle though."

Tom was confused, but nevertheless, she had clarified it by saying she was a Burke in a way, which made things barely easier for him.

They wandered through the halls of Hogwarts, hand in hand.

That night, Tom knew what to engrave on her ring.

_A name makes no matter to me, as long as I can call you my own._


	26. I Do

A/N: Some bits of this chappie are taken from "I Do" by Jude.

And sorry guys. It's been a while since I updated. Mocks are coming up - I won't be updating frequently, and especially not from early January to mid January.

**Kwebbeltje **

**Lightmoon-angel**

**deeps85**- In fact, I was planning for a fight scene with both of them. Maybe the next chapter or the one after... I haven't decided yet.

**-jellyacey- **- I'm going to do maybe one or two chapters showing the transition of Tom to Voldie when Hermione leaves. I don't know.

**andijviestampot **- I think I said in the earlier chapters (in the author's notes) that JK Rowling said Dumbledore was gay. However, she didn't say whether it was reciprocated. I'm assuming it was at first. You'll find out about the mystery guy this chapter!

**airuhkuh** - I'd like to make it longer, but I don't really have much time on my hands right now. Since I don't want to just abandon this story for months and months, I decided just to write a little shorter. But anyway, if I wrote long now, it would seem like it was dragging on. It's close to the end anyway.

**Princess And The Pea **

**Selene98**- I think this one is a little more on track. And plus, you get to know who the mystery guy is! and evil plots.

**Hotkat144 **

**amrawo**

**JennBenn3148**- Read and find out who it is!

**mystic-ocean-lily **

**Voldemort10**

**blindfaithoperadiva**

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l**- heh. I don't know how to fit in the title in the story yet.. hrm. And I don't mind the musical imagery.. I love music anyway.

**Witch isit **- You'll find out who it is in this chappie.

**Darkness-Lightness **

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**Bella's-Choice**

**CherryGrlZuli**-The 'mystery' person is revealed in this chappie.

**iloveebfanfics **

* * *

**Chapter 26 - I Do  
****

* * *

**

She stood there, in her pale, flowing dress, with the Burke goblin-crafted tiara upon her head, admiring the chapel. The intricate, moving tapestries and murals on the ceiling and the walls reminded her of the stories that had occurred on Hogwarts' Grounds.

Hermione, despite having read "Hogwarts: A History" countless times, never knew Hogwarts had a private chapel.

Only one giant figure and a small boy sat at the pews, watching their small wedding. The larger boy had a large hanky out, dabbing at his eyes. The younger boy, however, was twiddling with his wand, as they waited for the groom. Her two 'relatives', the Blacks, did not seem too pleased about the match, but nonetheless, came, and sat far from the two Gryffindors.

Minerva, still as young as she was, wore blue robes, as her bridesmaid. She felt her heart drop as she realized Adonis was not there, being their best man. Tom had grudgingly sent him the invite with an RSVP, but no owl returned. It seemed like he had disappeared entirely, since the exams.

And her uncle. He had sent Hermione the goblin tiara, handed down from each Burke bride, down to their daughters, along with the dress and shoes as a gift. But after that package, no owls had returned either.

As she stood there, she noticed Dumbledore, in his infinite glory, had entered, with Tom trailing behind. Hermione had no idea how Dumbledore had convinced Tom to let him become their minister, but inwardly, she was pleased.

The moment Tom had entered, he was cursing himself for relying on Caractus Burke's charity. The older man had mailed him rich jet black robes, with silver and green delicately embroidered on the surface. But the moment he saw his to-be-wife standing there, like an angel in white, he lost of his previous train of thought.

It was all about her now.

Fingering the ring in his pocket nervously, he couldn't hear what the old codger was saying, as he was too absorbed in noticing each feature of Ana; her sparkling, chocolate eyes brimming with emotion, her luxuriant, dark hair cascading down her shoulders, and the familiar upward turn of her smile.

He, of course, had seen it every night he had spent with her. But she was to be his _wife_ now, and he could gaze at her without anyone questioning his motives.

"… Do you, Tom Riddle, take Anaïs Burke, as your lawfully wedded wife?" asked Dumbledore, his features almost young again, and dressed in sparkling colours. Hermione stifled a chuckle – he almost looked like a hippy.

Tom snapped out of his thoughts, and proclaimed, as if his life depended on it, "I do."

Hermione's eyes were overflowing with tears ready to flow, and she murmured softly, "I do." To people who didn't know of the true nature of their relationship, they would have said she was reluctant to marry him. But in Tom's eyes, she had opened a new window for him in his dark world.

"Exchange the rings, Tom and Ana."

Hermione traced her finger over each word she had engraved. She had decided on _Amor Vincit Omnia._

Voldemort had underestimated love time and time again when he had faced Harry. But this time, she would make sure he knew the true extent of its power.

Shaking slightly, Tom took her hand, and slipped on her ring, and she did the same. The moment they wore the rings, it seemed a surge of power emanated from them, clearing all the tension that had been there moments before.

Dumbledore was still his smug little self. "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

He didn't need to be asked twice. Pulling her to him, as if she was the very oxygen he breathed, he crushed his lips on hers, into a breathtaking kiss.

The young Moody in the pews made a distasteful face. "I think I'm gonna puke, Hagrid," he grumbled, looking slightly pale.

Smiling at the young First-Year, the half-giant patted him on the back. "They're a good coupl', Alastor. You're gonna see a lot of 'em when ya grow up."

It was finally that night when Tom and Hermione the night together, as man and wife.

--- 

"You have to be serious, my Lord."

Grindelwald snarled, and threw another curse at the cowering figure. "DO NOT QUESTION ME!"

The unnamed man collapsed on the ground, convulsing violently. He had never wanted it to come to this, yet if he defied his master, it would end in his death… and hers.

Remembering the day he got the invite, he wanted to appear, and see her for one last time before his mission. But he could not – it would risk her life.

As the young man left his master's chambers, Apparated back to Hogwart's Grounds, and sneaked back into his room, he couldn't help but feel himself being torn further and further apart as time ticked on.

Life was dealing him the crappiest cards of the deck. Picking up the invite he had left on the dresser, he felt his heart shatter even more.

**_Tom & Ana's Wedding_**

_Hello Adonis,_

_How are you? And by the way  
Please RSVP 'I do'_

He could no longer delude himself into thinking he had no feelings for his best friend. She had been everything he had wanted, everything he had wished for in a girl. Yet she was getting married that same afternoon.

To Tom.

Looking into the mirror, he could see his world-weary self, older than he had ever been before. It was his parents' fault – they wanted him to follow Grindelwald and his despotism.

And he was on a mission to spy on Ana's uncle. He had managed to warn the older man into hiding before setting out. He had been punished for his failures.

His mind whirred back to Ana. Perhaps it was better that Tom had her. He was able to provide her with the security – he was strong minded, not like him. And money didn't matter to those two… It seemed that they got through anything, and always came out in one piece.

But he had heard whisperings from the higher members. Whispers that he should not have heard, but nonetheless, did.

They were attacking Hogwarts in four months' time. On Graduation.

Silently, he gave one last farewell to Ana.

_I hope you're smiling when,_

_He turns around and says, "I do." _

---

A month into their wedding, Hermione somehow felt different.

She had been so absorbed into her and Tom, along with exams and tutoring Moody, that she had totally forgotten herself. It seemed inconsequential to her that she had missed several periods.

And the earth-shattering puking in the morning.

Dumbledore had allowed them to share rooms, and Tom had taken it to their advantage. Almost every night, in fact.

Rubbing her abdomen, her eyes caught onto the ring on her left hand. She had remembered each word on the gold band, and did not bother to conceal it.

Neither did Tom.

However, with the thing about her belly – it could only have meant one thing. She was pregnant.

Just to check, she muttered the spell she remembered from years back. The air above her stomach glowed green, and Hermione didn't know what to feel.

_Baby? But I'm just eighteen…_

Her right brain took over her left. _Many witches have babies when they're young. And plus, you're married. No harm done._

Sighing, she rubbed her belly affectionately again. "I don't know what to tell your daddy."

---

Tom had heard the familiar muttering of the spell when he had entered the Head's Room. He dared to take a peek into their room, and saw the light turn green.

He was going to be a _daddy_. It seemed like everything had changed… for the better.

Listening in, he heard her words. "I don't know what to tell your daddy."

Losing control again, he opened the door, with a goofy smile on his face, "You don't need to, Ana." He laid on the bed next to the mother of his child, stroking the small bump on her abdomen.

"I can't wait for you to come out, you. I wonder if you're a boy or a girl…"

Hermione smiled, knowing nothing could be better than this. Ready and set for the world after Hogwarts.


	27. So Long

A/N: **StarzAngelus **asked a good question. So what makes you all read this, even though you know the ending?

When I wrote the ending/first chapter, I was mentally slapping myself -once people read the ending, why the hell would they want to read the rest?

At first, I had planned to leave it as a oneshot. But then I was bored out of my mind and wanted to write more, thanks to my mind going on overdrive, so I added the little bit at the end of Chapter 1, going to before Hermione left for the past.

Nonetheless, I love you all for reading, and especially those who review.

Quote at the end of the song taken from "So Long, Astoria" by The Ataris.

CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS! Merry Christmas!

**Nightcrawlerfw**

**Selene98**

**-jellyacey-**- Adonis was forced into serving Grindelwald. But then again, he isn't evil. His parents are, though.

**Hotkat144 **

**amrawo**

**deeps85**

**andijviestampot**- In the first chapter, Dumbledore was telling Tom the sex of his child. [Big hint: You will see in this chapter, but I'll explain it anyway. Tom doesn't know the sex of the baby, since the matron said that it can be checked after Graduation. (That means Hermione will either have to go to St. Mungo's or back to Hogwarts' Infimary).

**Ms willow gosermer **

**Kwebbeltje**

**Cissus**

**GoGothGirl**** - **This chapter's the beginning of the bumpy ride...

**CherryGrlZuli **

**Darkness-Lightness**

**Bella's-Choice**

**SnowySleigh**-I remember reading some fanfics, and thinking how irritating Hermione was. But anyhow, JK Rowling doesn't really talk much about Tom's life from the start of Hogwarts, and the transition from being an angry boy to a killer Voldemort. I'm just up my own version here, just to make it more interesting.

**JennBenn3148 **- And don't forget, Adonis_ is not alive in Hermione's time._ Tragedy coming soon!

**AAMRNluver16 **- Oh. I forgot to put that down. It means 'Love Conquers All'.

**luv-icecream-hyper **- He is working for Grindelwald. It's just he's stuck in a bad position cause he was forced into it.

**StarzAngelus **- I actually have no idea why you all read this. [see above for rant

* * *

**Chapter 27 - So Long  
****

* * *

**

Hermione couldn't hide her surprise, as the young Moody produced a silvery, ethereal Chimera from the end of the wand. The creature dashed across the Room of Requirement before evaporating into a cloud of silver dust as it came in contact with the wall.

Even she, the know-it-all of the future, nor Harry, had mastered a Patronus while in First Year. But then again, Moody was to be one of the greatest Aurors in the future, and tutor Harry, Ron and her.

The young Moody looked content as Hermione smiled at his success. "I can't believe you managed to do it, Alastor. It took me ages!"

The young boy gave a shy smile. "Uh… Hermione?"

Hermione had already started to pack her things away slowly, since her free period had ended. "What, Alastor?"

He seemed reluctant, but managed to spit it out, "Could… could you teach me another spell?"

Perhaps it was the hormones kicking in, making her feel… motherly. But nonetheless, Hermione conjured up a mannequin, to Moody's delight. "SECTUMSEMPRA!" she shouted, and invisible blades sliced at the figurine's abdomen, leaving three large gashes.

The Half-Blood Prince's spell. It seemed right at the time, but she knew Snape would come up with the spell decades later.

Moody's eyes were wide, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out. Turning to him, Hermione put a stern face on, "You must never tell anyone about this spell, and do not use it unless ultimately necessary. This spell is dangerous."

After a few shots, demolishing the mannequin into unidentifiable body bits, she decided to conclude their lesson.

"Remember the motto about fighting?" she asked him, before she left.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" he half-shouted. Smiling softly, she nodded, and left. Moody would probably remember the phrase for the rest of his life, and belt it out, on each mission.

---

Days flew by, and Hermione found herself in Dumbledore's office again.

"Mrs Riddle," Dumbledore spoke, sitting behind his desk, after offering her a lemon drop, "You know of the imminent threat in this time, right?"

She nodded. "Grindelwald, right?"

For a moment, she saw a look cross Dumbledore's eyes as the name was mentioned. Sadness? Regret?

If she hadn't had honed skills, she probably would not have noticed it. But Dumbledore continued.

"I'd like you to join our group, the…"

"Order of the Phoenix, right?" she continued. He gave her a proud smile.

"Yes. Were you a member in the future?" She shook her head.

"Nevertheless, I believe you will be a great addition. Do you want to join?"

The next moments whirred past her, as she made an Unbreakable Vow, and finally became a member of the Order. Dumbledore's voice turned grave again. "We believe that he may attack Hogwarts on Graduation…"

---

Tom sighed contentedly as he watched his wife doze off on the couch. He proudly gazed at the matching rings on their hands, and couldn't imagine a day without her.

And he was bursting at the seams, desperate to know more about their child growing within her. Madame Auclair had said that she would have to either visit St. Mungos or her after Graduation to find the sex of the baby.

If it was a girl who looked almost like Ana, he would fall in love with her immediately. Potential boyfriends would come under intense scrutiny. However, if it was a boy, he could imagine a miniature version of himself, with Ana's eyes, jumping around. Perhaps he could teach him Quidditch, and play with him outside constantly.

He personally hoped it was a boy. In the past, he had never imagined himself settling down, with a family. Before, it had something to do with domination, to go against all the oppression that had been against him when he was in the orphanage.

Yet having a child to carry the name 'Riddle' somehow struck a chord in him. He had despised the name, but it seemed _right_.

He just couldn't wait.

---

The time had come. Cursing softly, Adonis pushed open the door to his master's chambers.

"It is done, master. We are prepared for the attack in a week's time."

The grotesque man gave a monstrous snarl. "Good. I hope the new trainees are up to it…" Adonis didn't like the crazed look in Grindelwald's eye.

"You may leave, Prince. It seems like you are the only one in your family who is useful…"

Adonis stopped himself from flinching at the comment as he turned and left. Grindelwald had killed his mother, and his father, after they failed the last mission. Apparently, it was 'the last straw'. And to save his own skin, Adonis had to claw his way back into Grindelwald's good books.

He thought of sending an owl to Ana, hoping she would be able to escape in time, but he feared that _he _would intercept it.

Perhaps Dumbledore was wise enough to know of this beforehand, and evacuate everyone. He just hoped Ana wasn't foolish enough to get caught in the crossfire.

---

"He made you join his Order of the _CHICKEN_?" shouted Tom, obviously frustrated and scared for his new wife and their baby, "You're pregnant, Ana!"

Hermione had spent forever trying to soothe him, but he seemed to become even more panicked. "Dumbledore didn't force me, Tom. I wanted to join myself…"

Tom's obsidian eyes locked onto hers. "He… must have forced you somehow. And to make you fight against Grindelwald? Is he trying to get you to die, along with our kid?"

Hearing her mother's voice did calm her fighting Gryffindor streak a bit.

_Pick your fights, dear. Being married means you have to be understanding to your partner, and eventually, after the honeymoon, it'll simmer down to deep love with a guy who is more than just a best friend. _

She had to pick her fights. But then she saw something she had hoped would never appear again.

"I'm going to kill that…" growled Tom, his grip tightening around his wand. He was about to turn and leave, but Hermione stopped him.

"Tom, your eyes are red…" she stuttered, hoping he would stop.

His eyes flashed dangerously at her. "You've spent too much time around that fool. Stay, woman." Sprinting out of the room, she felt her heart shatter.

_Woman._ Somehow that word sounded like she was some nameless, discarded doll, cast aside after being used. The word stabbed her like little knives in the heart.

_Stare at the ceiling, Hermione. The tears will stop. He won't notice…_ she thought. But they came crashing down anyway. Warm droplets cascaded down her cheeks, and she felt sick.

Sick of having to face Voldemort each time he got angry. Sick of having to suffer the heartbreak whenever the Tom she loved turned into a heartless monster.

All in all, she was sick of this time. She could have stayed in her own time, in the tightly knit family of the Weasleys, and especially Harry and Ron. The two would have kept her safe, and she would have basked in their warmth.

She would have been better there than suffer the pain here all the time. And the fear that she would lose him to the darkness.

Ignoring where Tom had gone, she ran into her old bedroom, and securely locked the door, her wracking sobs breaking up her muttering of the wards, she plopped on her bed, crying.

---

Tom, his blood still boiling, pushed open the door to Dumbledore's office. The said man sat in his chair serenely, his eyes looking at Tom as if he was peering into his soul.

_Smug arse._

"YOU BASTARD! YOU MADE MY WIFE JOIN IN YOUR LITTLE GROUP! YOU'RE GOING TO GET ME AND MY KID KILLED BY…" Tom stopped in mid-scream by a piercing look by Dumbledore.

"Contrary to some beliefs, my parents were married, Tom. And, I merely asked her to join because of the information she has. I am not asking her to go down and fight. No one knows of her being in the Order apart from me and you."

The words seemed to sink in. The anger receded slightly, but Tom could feel Dumbledore's eyes still on him. When he looked, he was slightly shocked, seeing the sad look in the Transfiguration professor's eyes.

"Right now, she's upset and depressed. It's not good for the child, Tom. You should be more worried about that."

Without another word, Tom realized his stupidity. He had never truly listened to her side of the story, yet he stormed on, totally overlooking her. He had ignored her spilling tears, the telltale sign of a broken heart.

"Then why are you still here, Tom?"

He was right. And with that, he bolted out of the office.

---

She had somehow managed to get out of the bed, but was still sniffling. Accio-ing a piece of parchment and a quill, she started writing, trying to stop the tears from causing the ink to run.

_Dear Tom,_

_Perhaps if I never appeared in Hogwarts, I would never have caused this. If I stayed at Beauxbatons (_her heart cried at the lie she had to live with_), things would be so much simpler._

_I'm going back. A person can only take so much._

_Maybe we will meet again in the future. _(She had never met Voldemort before she left for the past – only his evil minions. But Harry described him so vividly; a monstrous tyrant, and she didn't know what she would do if she saw him in that form.)

_Ana (Hermione)_

Her hands shook as she signed off with her real name, and another sob wracked her frame. Taking one last look at the room, she pulled out the Slytherin locket. She could see the small hourglass attached to the same chain as the locket, and gave it a small tug, to calm herself before she left.

_And when this hourglass  
Has filtered out  
Its final grain of sand  
I raise my glass to the memories we had..._


	28. What I'd Do Without You

A/N: Remember, I promised you all a fight scene with Tom and Hermione working together. So that means...

bwahaha.

**Darkness-Lightness **

**-jellyacey-**

**deeps85**-Smart. It is very OOC for Hermione, and it's not a good enough reason. But the last time I was around a pregnant woman... she was reallyreally sensitive. Anyway, I'll find some time to fix that bit. I don't usually write well at night.

**lily**

**Ms willow gosermer**

**Lightmoon-angel**

**Selene98**** - **Thanks.

**luv-icecream-hyper** - There's gonna be one or two chaps on how Tom turns from good to bad to psycho. Then it'll go to Hermione in the future.

**amrawo **- Right. personally, I like the progression of stories more than just the ending.

**andijviestampot **- I've written down a little note to myself on how Adonis ends up. 'Tis not a happy one.

**Hotkat144 **

**Bella's-Choice**- you mean the 'bastard' one? I found it somewhere a long long time ago, but I can't remember where.

**SnowySleigh **- ooh. nice long review. Cheesy happy stories are good once in a while, but i think the sad/bittersweet ones stick in your head more. And the 'Order of the Chicken' part. I wanted to explain how Tom doesn't really respect the organization, since I got that vibe from the books.

**maximum-calories **

**AAMRNluver16**- In the previous chaps, it was said that Ron was dead already. And in the first chapter, Harry finds Hermione's pensieve after the fight with Voldemort. So no, they don't know.

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l** - From past experience, pregnant women are extremely sensitive. It might be different for other women, I don't know. But anyway, that's why it's slightly OOC.

**GoGothGirl **- I'd put Tom in classes and put on meds for bipolar disorder. Anyway, he's back to his nice, grovelling self here.

**Fantastic Fira **- -goes deep red- ah okay. Tom is pretty hot in my mind anyway. And no, you're not a bad review writer.

**blindfaithoperadiva** **-** darn. at least you have a dog. I WANT A DOG! anyhoo, I thought Astoria was a place name.

**JennBenn3148**

**The Almighty Cheez It**

**CherryGrlZuli**

**imagine-me****  
**

* * *

**Chapter 28 - What I'd Do Without You  
**

* * *

As Tom sprinted through the halls of Hogwarts, he remembered something from his childhood. It never occurred to him that it would happen to his Ana, but then again, he never really came in contact with pregnant women. 

He thought of the nicest nurses back at the orphanage… Miss Travers, yes, that was her name. A Muggle woman who got pregnant and her belly swelled with the baby. The man who impregnated her refused to marry her – apparently, according to the other wardens there, he was already married. Like in the Wizarding World, single mothers were frowned upon, and she became extremely depressed and shunned.

She never came back one night. Some said she killed herself n the depression. Others blamed the pregnancy hormones that caused her to act so recklessly.

No matter what, Tom didn't his wife to go away. He _needed_ her, and he didn't mean to upset her. They were supposed to end up as a happy family, together.

_Family_. The word seemed unfamiliar, but he welcomed it. Bursting through the portrait, he didn't see her in the Head's Room.

She was in her old bedroom, and he found it locked and warded. Before, there were sobs coming from inside. But it was completely silent now.

_No. Please. No._

Off the top of his head, he threw spells at it. The wards barely weakened. He had break them down the hard way, and the precious seconds were ticking by.

He prayed to the Gods that she was alright.

---

_No, mistress…_hissed her familiar, slithering onto her arm; _you must not do this…_

"Why? He…" spluttered Hermione, as she tried to wipe away the rogue tears.

_You heard him. He was angry because he wanted to protect you and your child. He did not mean the words that came out afterwards… _Nagini extricated her hand from the locket; _He loves you too much to let you get hurt._

"But…"

Nagini gave her a wizened look. _Don't act on impulse, mistress. I know you have a logical brain. Use it._

The more Hermione thought about it as she calmed down, with the snake coiled around her arm, she realized she had been a little foolish. Stuffing the locket back down into her clothes, she watched as Nagini gave her what seemed like a smile.

_I await the young one's arrival…_

And with that, she slithered off. Hermione banished the note she had written before, watching it disappear into nothingness, and fell back on the bed, tired. Moments later, she fell asleep.

---

The portrait burst open. "ANA!" came a heart-wrenching cry from a voice she recognized, "NO!"

She felt a force collide with her, and the familiar smell of pine reached her nose. "No…"

Hermione opened her eyes, trying to register the face. "No what?"

Her husband's dark eyes registered shock. And he stuttered. "I… thought... you were..." he gulped before the last word, "dead."

Nagini had been right. Tom did care, even though his words were callous sometimes. "Of course not."

"Don't leave me, please." He pulled her into a tight embrace, afraid to let her go, lest she disappear from his sight.

"I won't, Tom. I won't." Her hand ran though his silky hair, as they remained like that for what seemed like an eternity.

---

Adonis fretted in his room, twiddling with his wand nervously as he paced his room.

Grindelwald was attacking in a few days' time. Everyone would fall if they weren't prepared. Ana would be no match for them, even with her advanced duelling skills.

He became more disenchanted as he thought of the girl he ever had any true feelings towards. She had moved on, married, and was expecting a child.

But if he had ended up with her, it would have been more dangerous. If he displeased Grindelwald in any way, he would have killed her without a second thought. Right now, he himself was responsible for his actions.

He hoped Grindelwald didn't find out about his feelings. Nevertheless, he wanted her safe, as her best friend. He made up his mind.

Later in the afternoon, he found himself outside the Head's Room, seeking entrance. He held his breath, hoping his presence wouldn't startle her, but it was Tom who answered the door.

"Why are _you_ here?" he growled, almost pitilessly, eyeing Adonis distrustfully.

Adonis composed himself. "I need to see Ana. I'm sorry I wasn't there for your wedding…"

He heard her voice from inside. "Adonis?"

Tom looked at Adonis, the unspoken words having passed between them. _You're lucky she got here…_

Adonis saw her, finally, after weeks and weeks of seclusion. She seemed to have a glow on her, and her eyes seemed more vibrant that ever. "Come in," she spoke, and they sat in the dark Slytherin green couched around in the Head's Room.

"I'm sorry for not popping up these few..."

Tom snapped at him, "You haven't visited Ana since Christmas, you…" But Hermione put her hand on his chest to silence him.

"So where have you been?" she asked, sounding timid, but in his heart, Adonis knew she was wary.

He decided to go with the vague answer. "Here and there. I was busy during the exams… I need to speak to you guys privately about something."

Hermione nodded, and with a murmur of a ward spell, the entire room was contained. "You do wandless?" gasped Tom, completely unaware of his wife's skills. But Adonis just smiled at her, knowing her intelligence was way beyond her years.

"Grindelwald… is attacking in a few days. On Graduation." Adonis muttered, wishing he would crawl and die. In fact, he probably would, if Grindelwald found out.

Tom eyed him skeptically, "And how did _you_ find out?"

"I know, Adonis." Hermione stated, and both sets of dark eyes turned to her.

"How do you know?" asked Tom, and Adonis seemed to want the answer too.

"Dumbledore."

Adonis seized the moment. "You need to protect yourself well, you two. Stay away from him." He stood up, prepared to leave.

"What about you?" This time, the voice was not only from Ana, but surprisingly, Tom too.

His sad eyes turned to the happy couple, he sighed. "I'll figure something out. There are some things you can't run away from."

_Like killing people. Or serving the current Dark Lord who just exterminated your family._

---

"We can't escape this, Tom, unless Grindelwald retreats," sighed Hermione, "Dumbledore will defeat that monster."

Tom lay there, on the bed, next to her, "What if Dumbledore doesn't? Then what happens?"

_If only I could divulge the future…_ mused Hermione. "I trust Dumbledore with my life. He will defeat Grindelwald."

But Tom possessively draped his leg over hers. "You can never be too sure, Ana. If he doesn't… I could lose you and..." His hand delicately touched her abdomen, "our child."

She had changed Tom's future already. Had she changed the outcome of the battle too?

The two lay there, succumbing later to a fitful sleep.


	29. The View From Here

A/N: Hermione should be leaving in the next chappie. It's coming to an end. boohoo. All the real goodies (in my opinion) are in the next chappie really.

**-jellyacey-**

**amrawo **

**Hotkat144**

**blindfaithoperadiva**- duhn... duhn... duhn... You will see, NEXT CHAPTER!

**Silbemetato **

**Lightmoon-angel**

**Kwebbeltje**

**deeps85**- which proves how tired I was. I wrote this chappie in the morning, so it should be better. I don't usually make spelling errors.

**Ms willow gosermer **

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l**- gahh. I try my best to fix these stupid errors, but I guess that slipped my attention. I'll fix it (ahem) sometime.

**Darkness-Lightness **

**GoGothGirl**- whee. Putting you guys on the edge.. is.. FUN!

**LoKlutzChad/AllOfTheAbove** - I'm thinking of that. Maybe Hermione meets Nagini in the future. I haven't decided yet.

**nodoubtrox **- I love No Doubt too.

**AAMRNluver16** - We'll see in the next chappie.

**Galleon-to-Galleon **

**Jynx101**

**vianney**

* * *

**Chapter 29 - The View From Here ****

* * *

**

"I want to fight."

Hermione spun around, staring at Moody. He had grown a fair bit since she first met him, and since then, had gained a gargantuan amount of knowledge. But Hermione had warned him earlier to stay away from the fighting in the last week.

This was to be one of his last lessons in Hogwarts.

"No, Alastor. It's dangerous," she sighed, hoping he wouldn't rebut. But Moody was not one who stepped down easily.

His young, scar-free face turned to a frown. "You're pregnant, and you're fighting. So why can't I?"

In all their lessons, she had tried to treat Moody like an adult. As if Moody was her age. But she had to stress the severity here. "Alastor, you're only a First Year. You have so much…"

He was angry now. "And how about your kid? If you get hurt or die, what's going to happen to him?"

Heaving a sigh, she knew she would not win this one. "Fine. I'm staying out of trouble as much as I can. And so will you."

The frown dissipated into a thin line, like McGonagall's in the future. The answer seemed to satisfy him for now. "Okay. I'll see you then."

And with that, he bounded out of the Room Of Requirement, leaving Hermione worrying about the lives she dragged into the Dumbledore versus Grindelwald battle.

She herself wasn't even sure about how the war would end. Having changed so much in the past already, she was unsure whether her actions would have affected who the victor would be.

---

Dumbledore sat down at the end of the large table, with the members of the Order lining the sides. Plopping a lemon sherbet in his mouth, he watched as Hermione bustled in, red from running up flights of stairs.

"I'm sorry…" she breathed, obviously flushed and out of breath. McGonagall helped her sit down, and tutted.

"You shouldn't be rushing yourself, Ana. You're pregnant…" groused Minerva, and Hermione nodded, sitting down.

Albus cleared his throat, and spoke. "As you all know, Grindelwald is attacking in a few days' time." When he had first announced this, ripples of murmuring had erupted. But now, solemn and brave faces remained. "We are attempting to have minimal student casualties and injuries, but I expect some. Grindelwald is neither lenient nor merciful…"

Hermione watched as his blue eyes, usually full of life, now sorrowful. She didn't know whether it was talking about the deaths or about Grindelwald himself.

"And of course, there are some students who are supporters too. We will only stun them, and it is best if no harm comes to them. Aurors have not been informed – as you know, Grindelwald's supporters have infiltrated them too. They will arrive late. And, it is recommended, for all members, to write wills or letters to the next of kin, should they…"

His voice echoed in the deathly silent room. Everyone knew what he meant, and the rest of the meeting passed by, as each one of them, including Hermione, faced the truth of mortality.

---

_Dear Tom,_

_I am sorry…_

---

Hermione scrunched up the parchment and Incendio-ed it. She had tried writing a letter, telling Tom of everything behind her, but she could not find the write words. The first few seemed a little forced, the others, unreal, and even some which seemed apathetic.

But she was going to face the light. She _could_ die. And if she died, _their child_ would die too.

She had taken the opportunity to write her 'final' letter while Tom had a lesson while she had her free, but nothing came to her. Glancing at the clock, there was little time left.

Hurriedly, she scrawled down her thoughts, tucking it into the recesses of her truck to work on some other sunny day.

---

It was a breezy evening, nice and cool, as they sat in their secret niche in the Astronomy Tower, overlooking the Grounds. Tom had enough foresight to grab some food from the kitchens and pack it, so they could have a picnic while they gazed at the school one last time.

"What are you thinking of doing after Hogwarts?" asked Tom suddenly, as if it had just occurred to him. Truthfully, Hermione didn't know. She loved so many things, and didn't know yet.

If Harry and Ron were there, though, she would have followed them into Auror training. Or maybe teaching. Then, she could spend time researching.

"I don't know yet. Maybe apprenticing under a professor in Hogwarts and becoming a teacher or going in to Auror training. I haven't made up my mind yet. How about you?"

Hermione remembered Tom eventually went to Dumbledore to ask for the DADA position, but perhaps he had changed.

"I promised your uncle that I'd work for him for a bit. I'd go for teaching too. If we both chose teaching…" A boyish smile graced his lips, and his eyes seemed to sparkle despite the dimming light. "We could raise our kid easier that way." Tomorrow was Graduation, and they needed to prepare.

Tom was sitting, his back to the wall on the raised platform, and Hermione on his lap, and she peered out the window to their side. The sunset was blood red, with a tint of purple, as the sky darkened. Nothing felt amiss, and everything felt perfect. It was a memory, forever ingrained in their minds, as peace enveloped them.

But the Grounds were eerily quiet. Too quiet for Hermione.

Usually, Hagrid would be off chopping wood. But he wasn't there. The Squid would be wreaking some sort of havoc in boredom. Since it was the second last day of school, lessons would be off early, and the students would have swarmed the Grounds to play.

But no one was there.

She felt Tom move, and followed his line of sight to find the Bloody Baron, in his incorporeal form, looking at the couple hurriedly.

"You two need to get back to your rooms immediately. Grindelwald is coming!"

Hermione spun around, and looked at the Grounds again. Dark figures swarmed across the grass, from the Forbidden Forest, heading straight for Hogwarts.


	30. Avada Kedavara

A/N: **THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER. THERE WILL BE TWO TO THREE MORE LEFT. **

This, I think, is the longest chapter I've written. Hope you guys like it!

Also, I will not be updating soon. I want to let you guys simmer with this chapter first.

**  
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**blindfaithoperadiva **

**amrawo**- THIS IS NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!!!

**Jynx101 **- Hope this is fast enough, mate. And plus (added bonus), it's 2396 words LONG!

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**f i r e f l y o f h e l l**- I am sometimes a sucker for happy endings, BUT I want this one to stick in your heads. Plus, it would be kind of awkward for me just to twist it all to make it a happy ending. So sorry, no happy ending here.

**andijviestampot**- Moody does get hurt in this one. heh.

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**Chapter 30 - Avada Kedavara  
**

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They managed to run back to the Head's Room, and like every mission Hermione had taken in the future, she grabbed the Marauder's Map. 

Pointing her wand to it, she murmured, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

She could hear Tom's voice as it unravelled. "Ana, stop messing around with that piece of old parchment. You need to get to somewhere safe."

Handing the Map to Tom, she muttered, "We gotta find Dumbledore. He's the only one who can defeat Grindelwald."

His obsidian eyes pierced hers. "Not 'we', Ana. Just me. I'll go find him."

"What if you get hit? Our kid will grow up without a dad." Tom hesitated, and remembered his life at the orphanage for the moment. "But what about…"

He did not have time to continue, as a dull blast echoed through the walls, signalling their attacks.

Willing herself to stay calm, Hermione tried to locate Dumbledore. "He's in this corridor, from the looks of things. And he's on the highest floor. Dammit."

She felt Tom's warm hands clasp with her own, and he pulled her out of the room, looking at the Map to avoid potential Grindelwald supporters. But with one look at the ever-shifting stairs, they groaned. The stairs only went elsewhere – not the way they wanted. And all the people in the portraits seemed to have disappeared into nothingness.

"ANA!" she heard a voice shout, and found herself looking at Moody, who had appeared, short of breath, "I was trying to find you… Where are you guys headed?"

Tom gave a slightly aghast look at the Gryffindor, but hid it quickly. "Dumbledore. We need him to get rid of Grindelwald." The stairs seemed to ignore their floor, and shifted away from them, letting escaping students to fumble down them, to what seemed like relative safety.

Looking at the Marauder's Map, she tried to find another escape route from their floor, and spotted one, behind a statue of a hippogriff.

"They're coming up the stairs, Ana! We gotta go!" shouted Tom, whisking them away further down the corridor. With the Map in her hand, she ran down the corridor, finding the hippogriff at the very end, and looked for its talon.

The familiar rumbling of footsteps echoed through the corridors, and she could hear a curse being thrown, barely missing them and hitting an empty portrait. The two boys, no, her husband and her student, were flinging hexes and curses at them, holding them at bay, while egging her to hurry up.

"BINGO!" she growled, and a gap opened, small enough for all of them to slip through, slamming shut before the men could reach them.

"Where does this go?" questioned Alastor, and she shrugged, casting a Lumos in order to see their location.

"To the Headmaster's Office, apparently. We're probably going to need his help."

Tom shook his head sadly as they went up the cramped stairs by wandlight. "He's a wimp. Doesn't take the initiative, especially if it's dangerous."

Sighing, they would hear the muffled thuds of curses hitting the hippogriff outside. Hermione hoped it would last, perhaps, until they learned how to blast the stone statue away and the three manage to escape from the tunnel.

"I see some light," muttered Tom, and Hermione prodded at the source. A trapdoor. She lifted it up, and saw the Headmaster's Office come into view, with a trembling Headmaster pointing his wand at them.

"Who… are… you?" he stuttered, obviously scared out of his wits.

"I'm Ana Riddle. Tom and Alastor Moody are behind me."

Dippet seemed to hesitate, but he cleared the way, and Hermione clambered in, and Tom followed.

"I heard a blast. I think they cleared the hippogriff," rumbled Moody, sounding more and more like his aged counterpart, "It won't be long before they come up…"

Armando Dippet looked horribly frightened, and started quivering on the spot. "You... mean… they're coming through _my _ _escape route_?"

"I'm afraid so, Headmaster Dippet. Now if you'll excuse us, we need to find Professor Dumbledore."

"But that means... you'll be going through the _front_. There are loads of them, I expect." The headmaster fumbled to the door and blocked himself in front of it. "I'm not going to let you let _them _in…"

Searching the Map, Hermione found none. "It's clear, Headmaster. Now _move out of the way_," growled Hermione threateningly. Nervously, the older man shifted away, and the three burst out of the Office, attempting to reach the corridor where Dumbledore was at.

A louder, more succinct blast sounded from the room they had exited, and a high pitched squeal of the Headmaster told them they were going to slow. The Map, despite being the greatest help to them so far, was heralding doom. Three groups were headed their way, and only one would be fast enough to dart up the winding staircase to reach Dumbledore.

"Alastor!" she barked, "Run up, as fast as you can, following this Map, and find Professor Dumbledore. Tom and I will hold them off as much as we can"

Alastor seemed poised to fight. "NOW!" she bellowed, and the young boy took off, sprinting, and the sounds of his steps faded away, she gulped.

Tom's hand on hers comforted her. "We'll be in this together, Ana," he whispered, as Grindelwald's followers filtered out of the doors.

And they were ready. "TARANTALLEGRA!" shouted Hermione, stopping various men in their spots, dancing madly.

Tom threw Trip Jinxes and stunned others, but soon, more had appeared, flinging curses at the duo.

A searing pain shot through Hermione's arm as a rogue curse scorched her, barely missing her shoulder and rendering her defenceless. Dropping the 'safer' spells, she decided to use her more dangerous ones. "DEFODIO!"

One of the masked men fell, blood spurting. Tom looked, slightly surprised at his wife and her dangerous nature. "Protego Totalum!" A protective shield engulfed the two, keeping them safe from most curses.

And they continued volleying dangerous curses, hoping Moody reached Dumbledore. Hermione's hand still gripped Tom's for reassurance, but suddenly, it turned quiet. The supporters stopped hurling curses, and parted, as if an entity was causing them to split down the middle.

"CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" shouted Hermione, remembering Moody's words in the future, and the two did not stop with the flood of curses and hexes. The lesser men in the crowd fell, but a shadow fell upon the two, and Hermione could not help but gulp.

"Foolish teenagers," the tall, weathered man rasped, and with a flick of his wand, Tom fell to the ground and both their wands flew to his outstretched, scaly hand. Grindelwald then turned to Hermione, who stood her ground.

"You're Caractus' niece, right? I wonder what he would say if he found you in my hands…" With another careless flick, Hermione felt her sides freeze, and her body float, along with Tom's, bobbing in mid-air, to wherever he took them.

---

He felt his eyes flutter, and a painful headache that signalled that he was still alive. It felt like he had been run over by Muggle truck. His eyes became accustomed to the light, and he found himself in the Headmaster's Office, with a scaly being sitting in the Headmaster's seat.

_Where is Ana?_

She was bound, and still unconscious, by his side. He felt his heart wrench, and hoped she and his child were okay.

Moving as little as possible, he scanned the rest of the room. Dumbledore was not there, but Moody was there, on the floor, bleeding profusely. He felt sorry for the small Gryffindor, as curses were flung at him mercilessly.

"We caught this little bugger on the top floor, and he was a fighter," grunted one of Grindelwald's minions, and Grindelwald gave a high-pitched, chilling laugh.

"Well, he should be fun. For later, anyway. Dumbledore still hasn't come yet, and we've already disposed of that useless poof of a Headmaster."

Tom's eyes followed and saw, in the bloodied mess in the corner, the remains of their former Headmaster. Although he was a little quirky at times and a coward, the Headmaster did not deserve to die such a death.

Footsteps signalled another person entering, but wands were not drawn. Tom looked at the man, and felt anger coursing through his veins.

It was the stupid Prince. _He _had betrayed him and his wife, who was his supposed best friend.

He watched as Prince's eyes darted to his wife, with what seemed like sadness in his eyes.

_LIAR!_

But Grindelwald's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Young Prince, I summoned you here today to prove your loyalty. Kill the Burke," he hissed, pointing at Ana's slumped form, "And you will gain my trust again."

Tom's heart shattered into pieces. _NO! NO! NO! _his mind yelled, and he tried to break free. But it was no use. Adonis stood there, motionless, and he watched as his wife was slowly roused awake.

---

The first thing Hermione saw was Adonis facing her. He seemed to have noticed her waking.

But he was in Grindelwald Supporter robes. She felt her heart sink.

"I can't, my Lord." The weight on her heart lessened, but she was still afraid. Her hands were over her stomach now, where her child was.

"CRUCIO!" snarled the angered Grindelwald. Her heart sunk as her best friend fell to the ground, twitching in pain. But he did not give Grindelwald the satisfaction of his screams, as his bit on his lip, blood seeping down.

When he lifted the curse off him, he shakily stood up, facing Grindelwald again.

"This is your last chance, Prince. Kill her."

With defiance, Adonis glared at Grindelwald. "No."

Hermione could see Adonis knew it was to be his end. She watched as he turned to her in moments, and mouthed the words that further crushed her heart.

"I love you." She felt her bonds disappear, but she kept her hands behind her back, pretending that they were still tied.

Within seconds, he fell to the ground with a flash of green, motionless, and his eyes lifeless. Tears pricked at Hermione's eyes, but she could not stop them tumbling down.

She found Tom, who was also looking at where Adonis had stood with amazement, but his eyes drifted to the exit, where Dumbledore, in all his majesty was standing.

"Gell. This is too much," he stated firmly, eyes blazing with silent fury, "Set my students free."

A maniacal smile graced itself on Grindelwald's face. "You can take that boy," he laughed, pointing at Moody, "But not Riddle or Burke."

"This is just between both of us, Gell. Let them go."

Grindelwald's smile faded into a sneer. With a wave of his hand, his followers slowly slipped out of the room, leaving the five in the room.

In the next few minutes, a force field enveloped the two great wizards, and flashes of lights signalled their fight, light against dark. Dumbledore emanated great power, and his light seemed to suppress Grindelwald's darkness, inch by inch, until the compressed power imploded on him.

An unearthly wail sounded from Grindelwald, and the shields were dropped, with Grindelwald collapsing on the ground. Despite being the victor, Dumbledore did not flaunt his win. Instead, he looked at Grindelwald with his sad blue eyes.

"Give up, Gell, and it'll be easier."

Grindelwald's eyes formed angry slits, and he caught Hermione and Tom scurry towards Moody in desperation.

With the last ounce of strength he could muster, he wordlessly summoned one of the crawling figures to his hand. Hermione flew ungracefully, in mid-scream, to Grindelwald's clutches.

"Let the girl go, Gell," muttered Dumbledore dangerously, "She hasn't done anything wrong."

From where Hermione was, she could hear the Dark Lord heaving, as if about to sob. Tom, on the other hand, looked poised to throw himself at Grindelwald.

"Go, Tom. Go and get Moody first," she shouted, with a glare, sent Tom running to heal Moody. His eyes registered pain, and Hermione could feel the same pain coursing through herself.

"Aww. How sweet, Burke," growled Grindelwald, his Slytherin-esque mask taking over again, "Telling your little boyfriend to save someone else first. What would happen if I decided to _kill_ you myself then?"

Everyone heard his words, and Tom froze, his heart painfully clenching. He sprung out, but Dumbledore stopped him. "I will deal with it, Tom," he whispered, calmly.

Reluctantly, Tom retreated, but he kept his eyes pinned on his wife.

"Let her go, Gellert Grindelwald. They were just like us. Give them a chance."

Grindelwald's eyes flared red. "YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME A CHANCE!" His wand prodded into Hermione's neck. Tom became restless, and found his wand. He Accioed it and targeted it at the monster. Dumbledore pointed his own wand at Grindelwald.

"It was because you turned Dark, Gell! You…"

"Why should they get a chance?"

While they were arguing, Hermione found the locket nestled within her robes. If anything should happen…

"I don't even understand why I bother to talk," snarled Grindelwald. "You're not letting me go, Albus. Then, Avada…"

Tom felt his heart stop in that moment. It seemed everything in the room was surreal, as if everything was going in slow motion.

He noticed Hermione had yanked out her locket, as she had done before, but this time, it was in her hand, and she was focused on the locket itself.

The deadly emerald light emitted from the tip of Grindelwald's wand, and he watched it edge towards his wife, bit by bit. He himself was helpless, despite breaking free and running towards them.

And at the moment he had estimated the green shot, she seemed focused, her fingers pressed on the locket. It seemed like it was a portkey, but instead, she _faded_ instead of spinning away. The light that engulfed her shattered the emerald light, and she disappeared, leaving no trace.

In his anger, he pointed his wand at the man who took away his wife and his child. It was the second time in his life that he had done this, but he was seizing the chance when Grindelwald was confused.

"Avada Kedavara," he hissed, his eyes turning bloodshot and crimson.

The once great Dark Lord fell to the ground, and he found her locket on the ground, that she had left behind. Picking it up delicately, he pressed it to his heart.


	31. Hanging On For Hope

A/N: WHOAH! 34 reviews for ONE CHAPTER! (goes crazy and dances). Nearing the end here, folks. And you'll need to simmer with this for about two weeks, cause I have exams. SORRY!

**-jellyacey-** - This story isn't following DH. I only used some of the info about the past from that book (e.g. Peverell etc.) , and messed around with it. The Elder Wand does not come into this, since if Tom beat Grindelwald, Tom would get it and be invincible.

**Hotkat144 **- I heard of the name the first when I found a book by Anais Nin. But anyway, I like the name.

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**Hermione's BOY**

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**andijviestampot**- Well a new update for you to simmer on!

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**deeps85**-That is actually a good suggestion.. but hey, I was desperate for her to go home somehow so I could continue writing. Hermione didn't have her wand, and with a portkey, according to the Lexicon, glows blue and trembles before going back normal. So maybe that would have caught Grindelwald's attention? I don't know.

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**Aristocratic Assassin**

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**Chapter 31 - Hanging On For Hope  
****

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**

_Do you ever miss her?_

_Do you feel the cold wind whisper?_

_Is there anything more deafening?_

_Are you hanging on for hope?_

_It's **all you've got worth living for**._

_Hanging On For Hope – The New Amsterdams_

---

_GRINDELWALD DEAD AND PEOPLE REJOICE!_

_by Nathaniel Skeeter_

_On the eve of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry's Graduation Day, Grindelwald and his men attacked Hogwarts, with the intent of taking over the school. Aurors arrived late to the scene to find many fighting already. Sadly, Headmaster Armando Dippet was caught in the crossfire and died during the attack. Notable members in the fight with Grindelwald include Tom Ridde (who dealt the last blow), Albus Dumbledore, Alastor Moody and Anaïs Ridde née Burke._

_They will be accepting the Order of Merlin, First Class, tonight, at the new Ministry of Magic Headquarters. Due to Anaïs Riddle's absence, however, her widower, Tom Riddle will accept it._

_For more on the newly available hero, turn to page…_

---

Frustrated, Tom threw down the old copy of the Daily Prophet. It had been days, yet he still had it in his house. And he, for one, was not rejoicing in the fact that Grindelwald was dead.

Grindelwald had forced his wife and child to disappear. And now Grindelwald was dead.

Dumbledore, the old codger, had approached him a day after the fight, with a letter in his hand. It was a letter that she had written before the fight, like a will and last testament.

But she wasn't dead. She had just… disappeared. But Dumbledore had told him not to dig any further.

_"She's gone to a better place, Tom. Just leave it at that and live your life to the fullest. Lemon drop?"_

She had promised him not to leave his side.

---

_Dear Tom,_

_Yes, I know I promised you never to leave you. Yet it is an impossible task for a case like mine. I do not belong here. I never did, from the moment I stepped into Hogwarts._

_Remember the day I told you I wasn't truly Anaïs Burke? That was true. My name is Hermione, but my last name does not matter. _

_Do not think this as me leaving you permanently because Death took me. You may see me again – but I will probably not have the memories we shared._

_You can love another again, Tom Riddle. I know right now it seems that I tore your heart out and stomped on it, but Time heals all wounds. Amor vincit omnia, Tom._

_Our child. You may blame me for dragging him/her into this, but you cannot turn back time to save us both. To save us may mean your death, or tilting the delicate balance of time and matter. I know you, and I know you will try it. _

_Forget it. Do not even attempt it._

_I love you, and I forever will, even though I may not seem to, if you see me again in the future._

_Hermione_

---

He had run his finger over each tearstain, which had smudged the ink that she wrote with. Everything felt numb to him, too surreal to be occurring.

Like she had written, he had thought of turning back time to save them. Screw the chances of him dying, screw tilting the 'delicate balance'. He wanted them back.

They had been taken from him, cruelly, by some pagan God who needed a long due sacrifice. And that heartless God had taken what he treasured the most.

His fledgling family. The chance to grow old with Ana and watching the kids play in the backyard, and watching them grow up. He had been robbed of the chance of seeing his child, or even children learn to walk, learn to talk, go to school, fall in love, get married and bring home the grandchildren.

It was rumoured that Dumbledore had a prototype 'Time Turner' that Nicholas Flamel had created, and he had asked Dumbledore.

_"No, Tom. Events have already been changed just as they are right now. I could not live if Time was meddled with again."_

He was a selfish old man. It was him – he had come too late to save Ana; he was the one who indicted her into his Order of the Chicken, risking her life. He had appeared late to the major fight anyway, apparently having to fight the Supporters who had ridden Brooms to enter the castle.

From where he sat, he could hear the ringing of the church bells faraway, ringing his name now. He had retreated to the Muggle World, after he found out Caractus Burke had been hunted down and murdered, his death silenced before the Graduation, and to avoid the masses of hero-worshippers.

Like the newspaper said, he was a 'widower' now, even though his wife was not dead. The wedding ring still remained there, the bond between his finger and the ring was still as strong as it had been the first night they had spent together, as man and wife. But the harpies would never see through that. Only a now-rich hero who was 'conveniently' single.

Caractus' shop was taken over by his younger partner, Mr. Borgin, who refused to let him work there. Instead, he told Tom to 'find work elsewhere', since he was a 'hero' now.

The flat was too quiet for Tom, as days passed by. He woke up next to nothing but coldness, sat alone at the dining table for meals, and spent most of his days researching ways how to get her back.

Moody. That boy had popped in once or twice to his new apartment with Hagrid, who almost desecrated his small home. But they were here only because of Ana. They were her only friends left, apart from Prince, who left the world vainly trying to save her. He had finally seen the youngest boy after the fight that day, and noticed the deep scars streaking across his face. The Mediwitches were unable to remove them, leaving him to appear to have a permanent scowl.

They stopped coming after a while, seeing that he was 'all tucked in' after the War. There was nothing left except for him and the books. And the information in them barely helped him.

He needed something stronger. Like Dark Magic.

Screw the age-old cautions about meddling with Dark Magic. He needed her back.

And the ever lingering memories of Ana kept on nagging him in his head. The locket had taken a permanent residence around his neck, and he had tried countless times to find what enchantment had taken her away. The partner diary to his was next to his old one, and the Peverell Ring was still in the box he had given it to her in. He had decided not to move anything – he wanted everything to be the way she had left them.

As the darkness descended, Tom grew restless. It was the first night in a long while that he had enjoyed himself and went back to the Wizarding world. This time, he did a simple glamour, hoping he could slip into a pub and order drinks to drown his sorrows in.

After what seemed like an eternity wandering through the doldrums, Tom found himself in a shady, dark pub, where most of the customers were in the shadows, their faces unrecognizable. It felt good enough for Tom, so he sat down at the barstool.

"What d'ya want?" grunted the bartender, his words clumped together, almost unrecognizable.

"Firewhiskey." A short, clipped answer. No one needed to know more. He was just in the pub, drinking, like anyone else.

With each sip, the liquid seared down his throat, washing away the painful memories into an undecipherable fog. However, a tap on his shoulder threw him out of the process, and he glared weakly at the interrupter.

A snatch of blonde caught his eye in the darkness. It was almost albino-white, but Tom knew for sure who it was. The figure sat next to him, and ordered his drink.

"What do you want, Malfoy," grunted Tom, wishing he was now back at his apartment, away from prying eyes. He kept his wand pointed at the intruder, despite being intoxicated.

"You'd better be careful with that thing, Riddle. Don't want catching the attention of people around here…" The hissing jeering of Malfoy's voice had never changed. It maddened him, in his stupor, but he didn't throw a hex.

He was right, nonetheless.

"I heard about your wife. Poor little thing…"

Tom swore he could see red, even in the darkness. "Shut up, Malfoy. She has nothing to do with you."

Malfoy raised a well-shaped eyebrow. "Oh really. I've heard you're looking for ways to bring her back."

Of course Malfoy needed something from him. Or else he wouldn't have found him in the first place.

"So what are you offering? And what do you want from me?"

"It's simple really. I'll let you use all the books in the Malfoy library, and the resources I have to find your pretty little wife, and you _come back to lead the Death Eaters_."

The Malfoy library was renowned for containing rare, expensive Dark books, and forbidden texts. In those books and tomes, there was most likely a solution to his problem.

And to lead the Death Eaters was not too bad of a deal. He could exert control over a bunch of brainless idiots, and use them to find his wife too. There was nothing he had to do right now, and he did want to see how they turned out.

"Deal."

And the deal was sealed with a stiff handshake.

---

_Roughly Twelve Years Later_

---

Twelve years.

Twelve bloody long years since her disappearance.

Their child would have turned eleven on this day, roughly. Add or take a few months. Looking around at the heavily warded apartment, nothing seemed to have changed. The smell of her still lingered faintly, and the possessions barely touched. The dabbling old fool, however, had taken the Map that she had shown him, telling him it was 'his'.

But some things had changed. The old Tom Riddle was no longer Tom; but the strong, Dark Arts-obsessed Voldemort. His body was wracked with the desire to cast a Dark Curse – it was the only way he could satisfy that craving.

But now was not the time. He had ordered some of his minions to work at the Registrar's Office years ago, to search for the name 'Hermione'. And this time was his regular check-up on whether his wife had appeared or not.

Apparating to his hideout, he seated himself in the throne room, awaiting news. He hoped there was news of her.

Abraxas Malfoy appeared, kneeled, and kissed the hem of Voldemort's robes eagerly, like the sycophant he was.

"Abraxas. Congratulations on the birth of your son, Lucius. I hope he joins our ranks one day. Nonetheless, the results?" The voice was more hiss-like, not the voice that he had years ago when he watched the old memories of her in his Pensieve.

Acting all official-like, Malfoy pulled out a piece of parchment. Tom had been itching to find an excuse to kill him for what he did to Ana, and was hoping, since he already had a son to pass on his name, it would be good enough.

"My Lord, the name 'Hermione' is fairly rare for Purebloods. The current Pureblood witches with the name 'Hermione' are between eighty and ninety years old."

Either she was never registered, since Grindelwald could have found it, but that was unlikely, or she... was half-blood. She had pretended to be Ana Burke, so why couldn't she pretend to be a Pureblood. He himself was a half-blood anyway.

"How about in the half-blood category?"

Malfoy looked up at his master, his eyes wide with shock. "Why do you need to know about this half-blood witch? She probably isn't worth…"

Voldemort had an itchy trigger finger by this moment, and flung a Crucio at him, causing the man to crumple and wail in pain. "DO NOT QUESTION ME, MALFOY! WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?"

Standing up shakily, Malfoy glanced at the piece of parchment in his hands. "This was a little harder. Fewer half-bloods are put in the Registrar's records, since its main purpose is to record major families. But anyway, there was only one 'Hermione'."

By this time, he was filled with hope. _Perhaps this was her._

"And?"

Malfoy looked visibly dazed. "Hermione McFarlane. Well, she was just born last year…"

The growled with discontent. Another year, and his hopes for her return quashed. But just when he was about to shoo Malfoy out of the room, another minion, entered hurriedly with his prized locket.

"My Lord!" the small man wheezed, "The enchantment on this…" He stopped for a breather, "It's designed to like a Portkey for time travel..."

Voldemort could hear his heart thumping. "I will come back and check up on it. Good work, Wilkes."

Gliding out of the room, he swept into his private quarters, and tossed the emerald powder into the blazing fireplace.

"Hogwarts."

---

"Tom, I'm sorry, but I don't think…" Dumbledore's blue eyes gazed at Tom Riddle's black eyes, noticing the red flecks in them.

But Voldemort was already up from his seat. "You feel that there are others who are _better_ than me at this?" His voice was low and dangerous, as if he was going to whip out his wand any minute.

Minerva McGonagall gulped. "You see, Tom, we just think you're aimed for better things…" She knew where he was going with the Dark Arts, but she was trying to put it out as nicely as possible.

His obsidian eyes turned to her. "The Dark Arts are powerful and great. To wield them would be…" He tailed off, and looked back at Dumbledore, "I have studied the Dark Arts for the past twelve years, forged…"

Dumbledore interrupted him, "And look at you now, Tom. What would Ana say?"

It was the final straw. Even though Voldemort had no answer to give, he glared at the two, his eyes completely crimson. "You keep her out of this, Dumbledore." And with that, he stormed to the fireplace, shouted "Diagon Alley" before stepping in and disappearing.

Massaging his temples, Dumbledore shut his eyes. "Did I really do the right thing, Minerva?"

His apprentice shrugged, and sighed sadly. She could not see how the man who married her friend could link to the deranged one who had just been for the DADA interview. "I don't know, Albus. Only time will tell."

It would be years before Dumbledore heard of him again.


	32. Dreaming With A Broken Heart

A/N: **I updated this ASAP. TODAY WAS THE LAST DAY OF MY EXAMS!**

Next chapter's gonna feature 11 year old Harry and other years.**  
**

**  
**

**mystic-ocean-lily **

**N e o n - L a d y - K a t i**** e**

**Ms willow gosermer**- more linking in this chapter! The next time we'll see him is when Harry is 11.

**GoGothGirl** - TODAY WAS MY LAST DAY! anyway, yeah, thanks for the pen thing. this guy in my class finished a brand new pen by the end of these two weeks because of the exams.

**Ekaterina2324 **

**mcdreamy1992**

**-jellyacey-**

**Music Is Everything**

**Kwebbeltje**

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**amrawo**

**Selene98**

**FreakyD45663**

**andijviestampot**- I actually never watched GOF. but yeah, here's the next part in the filling.

**Black-Rose23**

**Hotkat144**

**deeps85**- what do you mean by loopholes?

**AAMRNluver16** -He won't find her. I'm still not sure yet,but I'm sure he'll see bits and bobs, but not get the message that HERMIONE IS HERE.

**Kessic**

**Aristocratic Assassin **

**Nightcrawlerfw**- I'm not changing the ending. That would just make it messy. Hermione will die no matter what (bwahhaha).

**w1cked angel **- Well, I found it interesting that Dumbledore should defeat Grindelwald, but what happened during their fight was never written. And according to JK Rowling, they were either involved with each other, or Grindelwald was in love with Dumbledore, but it was unrequited, so yeah.

**blindfaithoperadiva** -Voldie getting even more bonkers here.

**Hermione's BOY**

**pyrolyn-776 **- The thing is that he's known her for so long as Ana. You can't start calling someone you've associated with so long with a new name suddenly. And he's still not over her anyhow.

**BeautifulBlackRose** - I actually want to see more time travelling fics out there which are more creative. Some just depict Hermione as too perfect, or Tom is too soft/bends to Hermione easily.

**CherryGrlZuli **

**vampireprincess**- I updated this ASAP. Today was the last day of my exams.

* * *

**Chapter 32 - Dreaming With A Broken Heart **

* * *

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart  
The giving up is the hardest part  
She takes you in with her crying eyes  
Then all at once you have to say goodbye  
Wondering **could you stay** my love?  
Will you wake up by my side?  
No she can't, **'cause she's gone**._

_Dreaming With A Broken Heart - John Mayer_

---

Voldemort sighed as he sat at the kitchen table, still immaculately clean as he had left it so many years ago. His minion had apparently tried his best that day years ago, and could not give him a time frame in which she had disappeared to. After so long, he finally understood her letter the same night when he reread it.

He would perhaps meet her in the future, and she, with no memory of their encounter. She was a time traveller after all. Perhaps by that time, he would be an aging old man.

And eventually she would return as the Ana he knew, along with their baby. But she never told him whether he would be alive then. To be stuck alone, perhaps, with a dead man's baby, and raise him or her by herself, without a father, would be painful.

Despite the half-truths and lies she had told him, he still loved her. And he was fairly sure she loved him too, from all the memories he had watched again and again in his Pensieve. He would not make the same mistakes his bastard of a father did – he would not abandon his wife and child.

But first of all, he had to ensure that he would be alive when they found her. He needed to find another way apart from Horcruxes to maintain his life for as long as possible to watch his own kid grow up.

And of course, he had disposed of Abraxas under the guise of dragonpox. He had been a good tool, and Voldemort would continue using the Malfoy resources, but Abraxas had done something long ago to Ana that was unforgivable. Abraxas' young heir had graduated not long ago, and was under Voldemort's wing.

Something in him trembled at the thought as he linked Lucius to his own, lost-in-time child. And and their child… it broke what was left of his cold, callused heart which had already been placed in cryogenic frost. He had to stop thinking of them now – it was unbecoming of a Dark Lord to ponder so often on what was lost to him.

But he had taken everything for granted then. The warmth next to him when he woke up, the morning coffee, the hand that clasped his under the table to comfort him, the earth-shattering kisses that reminded him that she was his. And it was gone, in an instant.

Every time he wandered through Diagon Alley with heavy glamours, at every turn, in every other crowd, he swore he could see her face. The memories with her were haunting, and refused to budge.

"GAH!" he screamed frustratedly and pulled out his wand, blasting away the Pensieve. The Pensieve, fortunately, was blast-proof, but the ripples of the force tipped it over, spilling its precious contents on the floor.

He watched as each drop of silver memory evaporate into nothingness as it came in contact with the floorboards and wailed inhumanly. It would take forever to pull out memories again, and his memory was already fading. The apartment full of her things and the memories were the only things that kept him sane.

Apparating loudly back to his hideout's throne room, he appeared with a crack before a startled Nott.

"My Lord, the Potters have once again refused to join your side. What do we do?"

Voldemort hissed. He remembered Potter Snr. and his wife in his year, and their hatred for Slytherin. They had a son, James Potter. He was in his Final Year now, graduating soon, and he had seen photos of him. In fact, he looked like one of Ana's old friends. But he had green eyes and a scar on his forehead…

_Stop thinking of her, you sentimental fool!_

"Make an example of them. But spare their son. I want to keep an eye on him." _And see if Ana truly has anything to do with him. _

Nott bowed and apparated away with a swift crack. Touching the Dark Mark, Voldemort summoned the follower he felt had the greatest potential yet, who had joined his ranks not long ago. It surprised him that after so long, the long lost heir of the Prince line had joined the Wizarding World.

A lean, lanky, sallow teen bowed before Lord Voldemort.

"I want you to keep an eye on James Potter. And" he lisped, red eyes flickering, "I expect that potion to be finished by the next moon. You know the consequences."

The younger Snape visibly gulped and bowed before disapparating. Tom remembered his mother, the manipulative witch who had hounded him incessantly and nearly killed Ana. The younger boy had retained all her ugly looks, but gained her and his uncle's knack for Potions.

He was going to be useful. To bad his mother was dead from the abusive Muggle of a father he had. Or Voldemort himself would have dished out his own punishment.

Suddenly a crack sounded in front of him, and Voldemort was annoyed. He had had enough of his followers popping in and out as they pleased, and it irked him.

_To save his own skin, this Death Eater better have some good news… _growled Voldemort's inner child.

"Milord! There has been prophesy predicted about you!" rasped a Death Eater, and Voldemort delved him mind immediately. Divination still fascinated him after all those years.

He could hear a woman's raspy calling out the fateful words he would remember for the rest of his life.

_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…_

---

A baby's cry rang out from the maternity ward, and a nervous man, feverously mopping his brow stood up as a nurse bustled, smiling at him.

"She's a girl. Congratulations, sir!"

The man sprinted in, to be greeted with his tired wife with _their_ little girl in her hands. Adoringly, he poked his finger among her small pink ones and elicited a response from the girl. The baby opened her eyes, melting the father's heart.

"I know what we'll name her. Hermione."

The man smiled at his wife before turning back to his child. "Welcome to the world then, my little one, Hermione Granger."

---

_Two years later…_

_­_---

Gliding with evil intent in his mind, he watched the detached home of the Potters at Godric's Hollow, housing James Potter, his wife, and Harry Potter, the boy he would soon kill.

It hadn't been hard to find the boy which the Prophesy was talking about. In the end, he had to narrow it down from two.

Neville Longbottom or Harry Potter, the two born on the same day, whose parents had thrice defied him. Longbottoms were proven again and again to be inept in magic, or severely lacking, while the Potters were still strong. There was no worry about who it truly was.

And Dumbledore, the old codger, had thought a _Fidelius _would be able to keep him away from the boy. Too bad he didn't know the Secret Keeper, the fool of a Pettigrew, was on his side.

With a mild flick, the door burst off its hinges and Voldemort could hear Potter's voice. "Take Harry away, Lily! I'll deal with him. RUN!"

Voldemort faced the man, his black hair ruffled, eyes widened in shock. "Stu.." James Potter never managed to finish his spell.

"Foolish boy. AVADA KEDAVARA!" And with that, the young man's life left him, and Voldemort followed the redhead to a nursery where he could see her place the baby boy in a blue-lined cot.

She spun around, wand in hand. "Stay away from my son."

For a moment, Voldemort hesitated. This woman, Lily Potter, reminded him of his wife and her fieriness, and her desire to protect. But he wiped them away quickly.

"Step away, you foolish girl."

"No."

"Very well then. Avada Kedavara," he said, almost lazily. He walked to the cot, and looked at the little boy. He almost reminded Tom of what his own child would have looked like, if only she had stayed. But he steeled himself.

"Farewell, little one. Avada Kedavara."

But to his shock, the spell rebounded, and ricocheted back at him, causing pain to rip his body to shreds. He screamed in pain, and with his last breath, he looked down at the little boy.

He had emerald green eyes and a scar on his forehead. Just like Ana's friend had. And then darkness overcame him, taking him away.


	33. Stay With You

A/N: This is the second last chapter.. boohoo. I think I'll go writing fiction on for a try. Or maybe not. I haven't decided yet. Please excuse this chapter if you see any mistakes. Alcohol does things to my brain. And yes, I jumped a lot here.

But no, **I will not write another Tom/Hermione**. I used my best ideas for the pair here, and plus, there aren't a lot of chances for Tom/Hermione to take place. Either Hermione goes back in time or Tom goes forward. And I prefer Hermione going back in time. Plus, the plot is still going to have to be roughly the same.

**w1cked angel **-I really wanted to link Harry to Tom somehow and Tom's obsession with Harry, bar the prophesy, since he could have chosen Neville instead of Harry.

**deeps85**

**stella8h8chang**- I fell in love with the latin quote in the first chapter before I started writing this story. I wanted to incorporate it in somehow, and voila - a tragedy.

**andijviestampot**

**Ms willow gosermer**

**Bella's-Choice**

**Selene98**

**Rowen Lovecraft**

**Hotkat144 **

**XevenOf9**** - **I never watched GoF. But then again, I probably would've found the voldemort baby thing disturbing. with a onesie? that is scary.

**amrawo**

**-jellyacey-**

**Dimrilla**- Here's a glimpse of Voldemort's POV from PS (or SS, if you read the american version).

**Black-Rose23**

**Hermione's BOY** - I did not get the time mixed up. I just skipped some bits, making it ambiguous. I didn't mean to make people confused about it. But the prophesy was made before Harry Potter's birth (before the first change of scene which led to Hermione's birth). I didn't feel like adding Harry's birth because it was insignificant. I wanted to focus more on Tom/Hermione, and not Harry.

**Music Is Everything** - erm. what were you planning to type?

**Aristocratic Assassin**

**AAMRNluver16 **

**f i r e f l y o f h e l l**- Sorry, I'm not planning to write any more TRHG fics. I still haven't decided yet, but I may come back to Harry Potter fanfiction and write one with a happy ending. I actually haven't noticed any other authors using this technique, and plus, it's not mine. I've seen a few use this technique before me. Good luck on your finals... I got my results back, and I'm happy.

* * *

**Chapter 33 - Stay With You  
****

* * *

**

_The walls will fall before we do_

**_Take my hand now_**

_We'll run forever_

_I can feel the storm inside you_

**_I'll stay with you_**

_Stay With You - Goo Goo Dolls_

---

Life was bleak, tiring and Voldemort, in his half-dead, spectre-like state, would have given up as he watched his own soul leave his mortal body that night. The almighty Lord Voldemort's plans had been foiled by a mere toddler.

The memory of that night was still on his mind, even as he resided in Quirrel, that worthless excuse for a wizard. Voldemort had easily tricked him into believing the wealth and fame that would come with him procuring the Philosopher's Stone, and the oblivious man had agreed readily.

The toddler's face had haunted him – his wife_knew_ the little boy. She knew him when he was a teenager, which meant, roughly, he would now be in Hogwarts. This was his second motive for entering Hogwarts – he could not only regain his physical body, but also find his wife and kill the Boy Who Lived.

_Didn't Ana say she was his friend?_

His conscience was silenced by his domineering, cold logic. In order for peace, sacrifices had to be made. And Ana's friend would be one of them.

As Quirrel wandered through the halls to his lesson, Voldemort could hear snatches of voices through the purple turban. He heard the familiar slam of the door, and groaned, having to listen in to Quirrel's Defense Against the Dark Arts Classes.

Voldemort felt like dozing off as he heard the plain, First-Year questions that Quirrel asked. They were plain simple, and it seemed almost a waste for Voldemort to be there. If he had had his own physical body, he would have killed Quirrel and taught the class himself.

"Yes Miss Granger?" came Quirrel's voice.

Voldemort could barely see through the turban, and the back of Quirrel's head was facing the blackboard. "_Lumos_ causes a beam of light to emit from a person's wand. The reverse is _Nox_," came a familiar, younger voice.

He wanted to desperately make Quirrel turn, to see who spoke, but the man resisted. Snarling, Voldemort lashed out, and Quirrel spasmed slightly.

"Are you okay, Professor?" came the same girl's voice.

"I'm fine, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Voldemort decided to question Quirrel later.

When they were finally in his warded quarters, he asked his follower.

"She's nothing but a Mudblood and a Gryffindor know-it-all," he answered.

And Voldemort left it at that.

---

It had finally come to this. Facing the boy, and the Mirror of Erised, to get the Philosopher's Stone.

"Give me the Stone, boy!" he snarled, but the boy made no attempt to move, his emerald eyes defiant. Voldemort's eyes strayed slightly to the mirror, and saw himself – his younger self, and a woman beside him.

He focused completely on the mirror, almost unaware of the boy next to it. The mirror showed his deepest desire, and he saw it. Ana was next to him, cradling a baby, and gave his reflected self a kiss on the cheek while a small boy with a toy broom tugged at his reflected self's robes. His son had his dark, ruffled hair, and her eyes. And then, he noticed a little girl pop out from behind Ana.

His daughter. She was like a smaller version of Ana, shyly holding onto Ana, her hair tawny and wavy.

"My Lord, what should I do?" questioned his minion, and Voldemort came back to reality, still pining for the mirror.

"Kill the boy." And so Quirrel raced forwards towards the fallen boy, to find his body start to crumble to ashes.

Voldemort felt the excruciating pain too, as Quirrel's body disintergrated, his spectre form had resumed, foiling his plans once again.

With an unearthly wail, he escaped the castle, soaring out of the nearest window and towards the Forbidden Forest.

---

It had been years later till his faithful Pettigrew had resurrected him.

The only problem was that Harry Potter had slipped through his fingers time and time again. But he swore, on his child's life that he would find his Ana. It had been three years since his restoration, Dumbledore was dead, and he was hell-bent on destroying the rest of his Order of the Chicken.

Little did he know, he would find her in the same year.

---

What seemed to be an eternity of spinning stopped, as Hermione ungracefully landed on the floor, butt-first.

The floor… cold tile…

Her eyes opened, and she saw a flash of dark hair hovering above her.

"Tom?" she asked weakly, and promptly fainted.

---

"She's been through a lot, Mister Potter."

"But why did she call me Tom?"

"You see, we sent her back…"

"YOU SENT HER BACK?"

Hermione was roused from her sleep by Harry's bellowing voice echoing through the Hospital Ward.

Emerald eyes full of sadness turned to her as she moaned from the bright light. "Mione!" The Boy Who Lived sprinted to her side, and lifted her upright.

"Thanks Harry," she rasped, her voice cracked from disuse. Travelling forward a few decades had done slight damage to her, but she and the baby were safe, according to Madame Pomfrey. She looked around, hoping to see Ron, or even Dumbledore, her eyes expectant.

Minerva McGonagall walked forward, towards Hermione. "I'm sorry, Hermione. Tom… didn't turn out well."

Harry's temper rose again. "What is it that you aren't telling me?"

Tired from timetravelling, Hermione did not feel like arguing with Harry. But Harry would explode if he knew his best friend had been consciously… fallen in love with his greatest enemy. So she told him a half-truth.

"I became friends with him. I had hoped if he had some company, he would not turn bad." _We became so much more than friends…_ And with that, she found herself unconsciously touching her belly and the ring on her finger. Thank god Harry had not noticed it.

Her best friend had remained silent. So did Minerva. "I'm tired. I'm going to sleep," murmured Hermione, and the two complied, leaving the room and closing the door behind them. Picking up her wand, she silenced the room.

And then the tears began to fall.

She had failed everyone. She had failed Dumbledore, McGonagall, Ron, Harry, and the rest of the Wizarding World. But most of all, she had failed Tom.

She had promised to stay for him. He had been in such awe when they married, and when she announced she was pregnant, he was the total opposite of Voldemort. Once she had left, it appeared he had gone back to his old ways again.

And what of the baby? Hermione knew she loved Tom still, but was unsure whether she felt the same way for what he had become. Would he still care for them, even though they had disappeared for so long?

It would be impossible for them to be together now. They were at different ends of a spectrum. They would never become a family.

Left to her own devices in the room, she cried until she could cry no more.

---

Two weeks after her arrival she had left the room, to talk to Minerva.

"You should not blame yourself, Hermione, for what Tom became," she muttered pensively, and Dumbledore's portrait nodded.

"But if I hadn't left, he would have been…"

"It is part of the past now. It would be unwise to change it now, Hermione."

Suddenly, a parchment appeared on the desk. Minerva seemed to recognize it, while she did not.

"Adonis Prince had a will. When he died, we found out his beneficiary. It appears he had signed the rest of the Prince fortune to you, Hermione."

Memories of her best friend's death resurfaced. And his heart-wrenching last words too.

She was disturbed from her thoughts by a knock, and Severus Snape, the one deserving of the Prince fortune, was there, his snide face still there. He was the true Prince heir, and though Hermione disliked his mother, Snape did not deserve her hatred.

He had, after all, sacrificed a lot for the Order. The fortune would be little compensation.

She turned to Minerva, her wand pointed at the parchment. "I hereby transfer the Prince fortune to Severus Snape, the true Prince heir."

The parchment disappeared duplicated itself, and the second one found itself in Snape's hands. "What is the meaning of this?" he questioned, glaring at Hermione.

But Hermione did not answer. She left the Headmistress' Office, and headed off to the place she knew she would not be disturbed. The Library.

---

_Hogwarts: A History_

She had read the book over and over again, but it never bored her. But she found a man, lean, his aquiline nose, his hair appearing greasy, facing her.

Never in Hermione's mind would he do what he did. But he spoke the words roughly, as if they had been rarely used.

"Thank you," Snape said gravelly, "You knew my uncle?"

Hermione nodded. "He was my best friend."

Snape tipped his head in response, and swept off, leaving her alone once again in the library.

---

"Snape," came the sibilant voice of Voldemort, "I have heard from some that wealth has been bestowed to you."

Cursing himself, he left the crowd and bowed in front of his master. He couldn't lie about it – Voldemort's source would have known. "Yes. It appears my uncle's wealth has been passed to me. The Prince fortune has been gifted to me because I am the last one."

Voldemort's crimson eyes narrowed. Years ago, a solicitor had appeared, asking him to sign some papers so that Prince's wealth would be transferred to him. The will had given it to Ana originally, but since Tom was her husband, he had been allowed to take it too.

He did not sign. The wealth was hers and Prince's.

"How did you come of this, Severus?"

_Shit. How can I say this without revealing Miss Granger?_

"It was passed to me because I was the last Prince." It was the half-truth anyway.

Voldemort growled. Snape had been slippery these past few days, and wills only passed to the relatives after fifty years. If they had not been claimed after eighty, the Ministry of Magic would absorb them.

It had not been fifty years since her death.

"Liar," he snarled, "_Legillimens_. _Crucio._"

Snape tried his best to fend off his mind from the Dark Lord, but with the combined effort of a Crucio and the spell, he felt his resolve weakening.

And he let an image of Hermione Granger slip.

Voldemort watched the flicker of events as Snape pathetically tried to hide them, but he latched onto one. It was Ana.

Ana, in the library, nodding. She said, "He was my best friend."

It was a recent memory. Angrily, Voldemort pulled out of Severus Snape's mind, and cast a dark curse on him.

"Totter back to the Order and tell them. We're attacking."

Snape, weak, his life fading from him, disapperated with a pop.

He had found his wife, at long last.

---

"He found out about Hermione," gasped Snape, in his dying breath, as he lay there, a broken man, on a bed in the Hospital Wing, "He's attacking soon."

Wheezing as the curse took over his body; Hermione could not help but weep. She was the cause of this – if she had not left, Tom would not have killed. Severus Snape was a good man, his life robbed of him.

And then things became still in the quiet Hospital Wing.

Poppy Pomfrey sighed desolately and pulled a sheet over Snape's face. Even Harry looked sad at the passing of the spy, the man who had made his schooling difficult. But all in all, he was noble – a good man. After finding Dumbledore's Pensieve, they had cleared him in the Order, but the Ministry had been left in the dark, for it would have undermined his position within Voldemort's ranks.

"The bastard is going to die," hissed Harry furiously, "He took… so many. First my parents, Cedric, then Sirius, then Dumbledore, Ron, Ginny, Luna…" Hermione could see the tears forming in her best friend's emerald eyes.

Hermione's heart broke as her best friend muttered those words. Either of them would die - she could not save both.


	34. Finale:King of Yesterday

A/N: At long last, this story is **FINISHED**. **I AM NOT DOING AN ALTERNATE ENDING.** This story would lose its edge if I did.

Note: Snape only showed the _image_ of Hermione. She still had her glamour on, remember?

Thank you so much to:

all those who reviewed

to those 101 people who put this story on their favorites

to those 162 people who put this on their alerts

to the staff/manager of the 9 C2s who put this in their archives

and my very final thanks to the reviewers:

**-jellyacey- **

**anonymous****  
**

**Lightmoon-angel **

**Monnbeam**

**amrawo**

**andijviestampot**

**Nightcrawlerfw**- I don't want to write an alternative ending. I would need to mess around with a lot of things, and it would get messy and unrealistic. I know that you want Tom/Hermione to live happily ever after (I do too), but it logically cannot be the case, unless Hermione actually stays in Tom's time. In this story, I wanted Hermione to go back to her time to bring some turmoil. And plus, if I just wrote 'Please ignore my first chapter except for the last little bit introducing Hermione's situation going back in time'.

But nonetheless, if you really want a good idea of what an alternate ending is, ignoring the first chapter, my best guess would be that she blacked out (cheesy idea), and woke up, Tom dead, Harry out of the headmistress' office to find others, and she finds a timeturner to get back to Tom's time and lives happily ever after. But that's just messed up, in my point of view.

**unsselie**

**Music Is Everything**

**Watson and Radcliffe 4eva**

**Black-Rose23**

**Hotkat144**

**XevenOf9**- Just so you know, Harry never finds out till the very end. And uh, concerning Snape's inheritance, I decided to leave it alone. i didn't want to go too far into the lily/snape thing, and digress from tom/hermione.

**Lolizz - **yes

**AAMRNluver16**

**blindfaithoperadiva**

**Aristocratic Assassin **

**luv-icecream-hyper**

**anamaria chen****  
**

* * *

**Chapter 34 - Finale: King of Yesterday  
**

* * *

_Can you still remember  
How it seemed that we could live forever in a lovers' dream?  
And **falling was the best part** but now you know the things you cling to  
**Your heart can start to grow.**_

_King of Yesterday – Jude_

---

The last Horcrux.

Nagini.

Hermione wanted to cry – she had to kill her own familiar, her own private friend, for the betterment of the Wizarding World.

Tom had hidden her in the Amazonian Rainforest, her natural habitat – Hermione had found it easily since there was a calling between her and her familiar. The tug was unmistakeable.

She and Harry neared it, wands out.

The same slithering sound that her familiar made reached her ears. Willing herself not to cry, she stepped forwards, towards the approaching snake.

_Mistress? _Nagini asked, her eyes widened, and stopped in her tracks.

Hermione felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I'm sorry, Nagini. I truly am. _Avada Kedavara._"

She watched her familiar's life run dry, the spark in her reptilian eyes gone.

Harry had not witnessed the conversation, but he did see the corpse of the large snake, and congratulated a muddy Hermione, caking more dirt from his hands onto her back.

She didn't feel like celebrating. She had just lost another friend.

Thousands of miles away, Lord Voldemort felt an ache – pain from a loss.

He knew Nagini had fallen.

---

Life is always cruel in its own way.

She had asked Madame Pomfrey to put a heavy glamour on her, to hide the small bulge on her belly – Harry would ask too many questions, throw a tantrum, blow up in her face, accuse her, and leave her forever. She had already lost Ron and Ginny; she could not lose Harry.

However, if she took the pregnancy glamour, she had to remove the one she had worn for so long – the one Tom knew her in. And in a way, it felt like something precious had been ripped from her. He would never recognize her. Maybe if he looked hard enough. But nonetheless, her heart ached.

If they won, she would be broken-hearted. The same would be the case if Tom won.

And the blow to reality came when she went to Madame Pomfrey's for a check-up.

"He's a cute little baby boy, Hermione. You see…"

She had not heard her motherly, adoring words. Instead, her thoughts were on Tom.

"Madame Auclair told me of your case years ago. Dumbledore had decided to tell her, just in case you came back. She's my mother, you know?"

Nodding meekly, the words barely registered with her. It had been days since the check-up, and she decided to keep a low profile, until alarm bells rang.

The Final Battle was approaching.

---

The Order had arrived quickly, with Alastor Moody in the lead. Hermione watched them enter the Great Hall, as she, Harry, Minerva, the Weasleys and the school professors waited for them.

Moody's face had changed significantly since the last time she had seen him. The scars cascading across his face, the missing leg, the extra eye…

They discussed tactics before separating, with Moody taking the main doors. She hurried towards him.

"ALASTOR!" she shouted, forgetting herself. She was_Hermione Granger_, not Ana Burke any more.

Moody's magical eye swivelled to her. "Hello there too, Miss Granger. Shouldn't you be at your post?"

_So even he couldn't recognize her. _She desperately wanted to say something to him – being the only person left who had been in the battle…

"Has the scar healed from Grindelwald? Adonis truly helped us."

Moody stared long and hard at her, and Hermione could not tell his reaction. A small quiver on his scarred, grizzly lip caught her attention though.

"Ana?"

She nodded, and the large, crusty ex-Auror embraced her. It seemed ironic; she was supposed to be his mentor, yet she was so many years younger than him now.

His face turned ashen as he pulled back. "Riddle turned obsessive after you left. He wanted to find a way to get you back, and joined Malfoy, since he said he had some sort of way to. Went completely psychotic, and apparently he tried to hunt you down in the Registrar's. I don't think he knows you're back."

Tears started forming. "It's all my fault, Alastor. If I hadn't come back…"

"Hush." He watched as the setting sun disappeared below the horizon, a blood-red sunset covering the sky. "I hear them. Hurry now, and go to your post."

Scampering off, she waved a teary goodbye at her old pupil, before disappearing up the stairs to McGonagall's Office. Moody watched with peace basking him. He too had spent forever, along with Hagrid, looking for her. When he had first met her in the Order, he had found some similarities, but shook them off.

He knew he was getting old. Too old to be living the life of an ex-Auror in clandestine operations. But yet he had finally found his mentor. And he was finally ready to let go.

Steeling himself, he watched as hordes of dark matter rose over the hill and towards the castle. The Aurors next to him nodded too, bracing themselves for the onslaught.

---

She was now Bellatrix _Black_, not _Lestrange_.

Ever since Rodolphus had died, she had been free to pursue her one and only love – Lord Voldemort.

She had tried everything; _everything_, from delicate flirting to the downright tempting of flesh. But he had spurned her, telling her to back off. When she had come on too strong, he threw curses at her.

But they were not strong enough to hold her back. She _loved _him. And she was pretty sure he would love her back.

If only he wasn't pining about his stupid, long-dead wife.

Flicking her wand carelessly and killing another student, she recounted her father, Cygnus Black's tales about Lord Voldemort, when he was younger, and went under the name of Tom Riddle. She had promised not to breathe a word to anyone – she never did – but she fell in love with him instantly.

He was high and mighty, feared by all Slytherins and all the other houses. Until her distant aunt, some _Burke_, managed to worm her way into his heart, he had been the perfect Lord. Nonetheless, he loved her, and she loved him too, and they got married in Seventh Year.

Her father recounted attending the wedding – it was no lavish, Pureblood wedding, but some hillbilly cheap service in the Hogwarts Chapel. She had even _invited_ a filthy halfbreed and a Mudblood to the wedding, and her Lord had complied.

She had probably kept him under some strong love potion. And it still seemed to be going on strong. Too bad the traitor Snape was dead, or else she would have forced him to make an antidote. Perhaps a bezoar would work.

In the end, they were in the final battle with Grindelwald. Lord Voldemort, being the bravest man she had ever heard of, and loved, of course, struck down the tyrant. His wife, apparently, disappeared, and was presumed dead.

Of course she was. Even her own father was dead, and her master was alive only because of the draughts Snape used to provide him with.

Before her father died, he mentioned to her that the Dark Lord had found out his wife was a time traveller by the name of Hermione. He was disgusted that she had impersonated a Burke to be their relative, but nonetheless, she was Pureblood.

An idea came to her head. Hogwarts housed _all_ of Britain's witches and wizards at one point, and medical files would have been kept. Perhaps she, Bellatrix Black, would find this _Hermione_, and remove her from her path to the Dark Lord.

Smirking, she changed directions and headed for the Infirmary. After getting past one dead Madame Pomfrey (she'd hated that chattery old woman from the first day of Hogwarts), she found the large cabinet that stored _all_ of the students' medical files.

Tracing the first name in the air with her wand, the cabinet thrummed and a drawer slid open, a brown file flying into her hands, as if she had Accioed it.

_Hermione Jean Granger_

A sly smile found itself onto Bellatrix's face. It was highly unlikely that she was Lord Voldemort's soon-to-be-ex-wife, but she had wanted revenge on the little chit for a while now.

---

Voldemort felt exuberant as he tore through the crowd, invincible, and felt good. The Boy Who Lived was soon going to be The Boy Who Failed at this rate.

The Chicken Order members were dying rapidly. Even Moody, Ana's old student, was taken down. He didn't have to make a move. His minions did it for him.

That way, he didn't have to feel guilty about anything. Not that he, Lord Voldemort, had a guilty conscience.

Bellatrix soon joined his side, with a wicked grin on her face. It was probably the bloodshed – she was one sadist, and he didn't enjoy her advances.

Instead, they reminded him of his wife. Not that she was sadistic or anything, but the innocence she exuded, which was the total polar opposite of Bellatrix. For some reason, his carefully hidden ring was pulling him. Towards the Headmistress' Office.

He was going to head there anyway. Meanwhile, Bellatrix had latched herself onto him, and he hexed her off. Perhaps he would kill her later. He had had enough of her puppy-dog adoring.

Blasting off the gargoyles, the steps descended, and he and his motley crew of Death Eaters entered the Headmistress' Office. Curses, hexes, and jinxes were flung his way, as Potter, his Mudblood and McGonagall tried their best to keep them at bay.

Bellatrix seemed to be targeting the Mudblood. In fact, the Mudblood was so concentrated; she bit her lip, her stance…

She was almost a spitting image of his Ana.

But she was no Ana. She was a Mudblood.

With Potter unconscious, he could see a flicker of sadness and fear pass through her chocolate eyes. Her eyes, that seemed to pour emotion into his soul.

Seizing the moment, Bella threw a slicing hex at her, slashing her abdomen. The Mudblood toppled with a muffled scream.

Potter was going to die now. Screw the fact he was going to bring him back to his Ana – she had probably given him fake pictures. She was fake, everything was fake…

"Don't do it, Tom."

---

Life was cruel. It always was.

It seemed like eternity as she watched her husband – or what was left of him – drift into the room. He had shot Harry down, and Bellatrix had taken her down.

Bellatrix had slashed her where their baby boy was. He was not going to survive. And neither was she.

During the fall, she had wondered what would have happened if she had never come back. She was destined to die – would he have been more repentant if she had truly _died_?

But she was selfish. She _wanted_ to survive – she wanted to be alive, along with her child, and find Tom, and grow old together, with kids in the back yard.

Because of her return, so many had died. She was the sole cause of all this.

If Tom hadn't joined the Death Eaters, they would not have been able to dominate the Wizarding World. And so many people would have survived.

What was left of her quickly tiring logic pressed a question to her. _Was she truly selfish?_

She could not have anticipated the ending. She had planned to _stay,_ for crying out loud.

She was roused from her thoughts by Tom walking to her best friend, ready to snuff out his life.

"Don't do it, Tom," she managed to rasp, with her last breath.

He turned, his crimson eyes widened. But she could see no more, as green light enveloped her, her pain increasing by ten-fold, and she finally succumbed to the darkness.

---

Bellatrix was becoming a hindrance. He was about to question the girl who had sounded and looked so much like _her._

"You old codger! Who is she?" he demanded, seeing the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, gazing sadly at the scene. As soon as he spoke his words, he watched the glamour disappear, and a slightly pregnant, but dead girl, caught his eye.

"Look at her ring," Dumbledore sighed.

Voldemort realized his own ring had become loose and visible once more. It was nothing more than just a piece of gold, with the words _Amor Vincit Omnia_ engraved on. The binding was gone.

And he took the ring from her hand, brushing away the blood, reading the inscription.

It was hers. It could not be.

After all the years he had spent searching for her, had he truly found her? But she was a corpse. She was dead.

It could not be her. It just... could not be. It had to be a lie. The bastard was still playing tricks on him, even when he was dead.

"I won't fall for this, Dumbledore," he spat, "Just you and your pathetic little tricks."

Albus shook his head sadly. "She is Anaïs, Tom. She was pregnant with a boy." The portrait Albus pointed at the bleeding woman's abdomen.

After that, all hell broke loose. All emotions of loss that had been blocked by the dam was set loose, the anger, the fury, at such a loss.

He was vaguely aware of inflicting pain on that _bitch_ that had killed his wife. And ordering the rest of the bloody idiots out, he put her out of her misery.

Perhaps he shouldn't have. Perhaps he should have cast some painful, terminal and long lasting curse to simulate his own pain, and then having the one he wanted the most ripped from him.

Crouching over his dead wife – his beautiful, beloved wife who had died under his rule, he felt more than just pangs of guilt. Tides unleashed, he broke down.

"I love you, Anaïs, and I'm sorry."

To others, it would seem meaningless, but he hoped she would understand, wherever she was now, with their unborn child.

"Get off her, you bastard. Get off Hermione," came the shaky, but furious voice of the Boy Who Lived – Harry Potter.

And it all clicked back to him. They were indeed best friends – she was the third prong in the Golden Trio that he wanted dead. One of his minions had killed her other best friend, the Weasley.

So that was why she was crying. _He_ was the one who caused her all the pain. Yet she learned to love him.

"No."

The boy didn't seem to know about Hermione's travel to the past then. His face was etched with confusion. "Get off Hermione, or I will kill you."

Warmth spread through his body, as if he had been cleaned of something. But the words came out, the words that he wanted to scream out in anguish. "Kill me then."

There was nothing left for him to live for. The only person who he lived for had died because of him.

But the Boy was vindictive. "I want you to know how it feels like, to have your loved one killed. And you killed her yourself."

He indeed had killed her himself – even though it was indirectly, the guilt was crushing what was left of his soul.

The world was indeed cruel. Karma was nasty too. And he came to a conclusion.

"If you're not going to do it, I'm going to have to do this myself. Your precious Order Members are coming soon." Without hesitating, he aimed his wand at his temple, and muttered the words that he had said so many times to others, ripping their souls from their mortal bodies. In the last moments of his mortal life, he collapsed next to his wife in a deathly embrace.

He had finally found his wife, after long last.

And he wasn't going to let her go – ever.

* * *

**MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION:** Is Hermione selfish after all? 


	35. Extra:Playlist

Posted up due to **GoGothGirl**'s request.

Dedicated to B, Al, Jon.

**Playlist for King of Yesterday**

(This is actually the list of music I listened to while writing this, or at least the ones I can remember)

May It Be by Enya

Cheat Away by Treble Charger

Dakota by Stereophonics

Better Off Along by Alice Deejay

Are You Gonna Be My Girl by Jet

Stand By Me by Oasis

Blood And Peanut Butter by BC Camplight

Porcelain by Moby

I Do by Jude

King of Yesterday by Jude

So long, Astoria by The Ataris

The View From Here by The Slides (I doubt you will find lyrics for this - this is local aussie stuff)

Hanging On For Hope by The New Amsterdams

Dreaming With A Broken Heart by John Mayer

Stay With You by Goo Goo Dolls

Slide by Goo Goo Dolls

The Boy's Gone by Jason Mraz

Worn Me Down by Rachel Yamagata

Overdue by The Get Up Kids

No Mountain by The Cat Empire

First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes

World Inside My Head by Sister Hazel

Virginia Moon by Foo Fighters

Nothing Happening by Ben Kweller

Non-Toxic by SR-71

18-30 by Reverend and The Makers

The Tension and The Terror by Straylight Run


End file.
